TV addicts will probably turn a deep shade of green while reading this. Probably they will want to apply for Dwyer McCaughley's job.

As TV product manager for cable firm NTL, McCaughley spends a lot of time on his couch watching multichannel television.

The 25-year-old from Co Armagh insists it is not all fun and games, but evaluating diverse channels such as "Men & Motors" and the Sci-fi channel can't be all that bad.

Guiding NTL's digital-TV launch this month has meant McCaughley hasn't had much time for golf, but then again he has five sports channels to keep him busy at home.

"During the product development cycle I sat for eight days watching television to get the right content," he says.

"My eyes where square by the end of it, but there was so much diversity, due to the different channels I was watching, that it was fine."

McCaughley oversees the development of digital television within NTL's franchise areas in Waterford, Galway and Dublin.

He chooses the channel content and line-up, the type of user interfaces for customers and will be in charge of introducing future interactive services for customers.

"I work with everything to do with the TV side," said McCaughley.

"I look after our digital and analogue products in terms of content in terms of relationships with channel providers, researching our customers likes and dislikes and our intentions going forward."

McCaughley believes that as a good product manager he has to remain in touch with the customer to evaluate which products will work and which ones consumers may not like.

"I'm very hands on and like to stay as close to the sales guys as possible," he says. "I have spent a lot of time down in Waterford listening to calls and talking to customers."

Of course NTL relies on more than the views of McCaughley and the customers who speak to him. It also employs market research firm MRBI to survey customers about the kind of content and channels they would like on a digital platform.

"We also have to get awareness of what our competitors are doing and offering," says McCaughley. "We would monitor what Sky and Chorus are doing in the market."

McCaughley worked for NTL in Northern Ireland while the firm was rolling out its digital "product", so he has experience of NTL's UK experience.

"We have spent the summer learning how we can learn from the best of NTL's UK digital television product and merge this with the best of the Irish."

Nonetheless, he insists that NTL's product is geared more specifically for Irish consumers than other digital platforms.

NTL's electronic programme guide features the Irish channels at the top of the selection.

However, the majority of NTL's content providers are from outside the State. That means McCaughley is called upon to travel overseas quite often.

"I like to develop personal relationships with people involved in the content side," he says. "Although this can be difficult if we choose to discontinue their channel!"

He hastens to add: "This is not a decision taken lightly but it is made by market research."

McCaughley's flatmates have no such concerns; instead, they just go home and switch on their telly.