'Off the Ball' team explain why they quit

The team behind Newstalk's Off the Ball programme has blamed its decision to quit the show on "fundamental differences" with …

The team behind Newstalk's Off the Ball programme has blamed its decision to quit the show on "fundamental differences" with the station's management.

The producers and presenters resigned en masse on Monday following a dispute over the start time.

The team had wanted to change its start time from 7pm to 6pm which would have encroached on the station's flagship current affairs programme, The Right Hook, presented by George Hook. Newstalk management was reluctant to alter its most commercially successful show.

Eoin McDevitt, Simon Hick, Ken Early, Ciarán Murphy and Mark Horgan released a statement

"Unfortunately there are fundamental differences of opinion between management and ourselves about the show's future potential . . . We are gutted to leave behind something we love but after eight years we feel it's vital that our product continues to evolve and improve."

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Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times