Updated 12.25
THE ‘OFF THE BALL 5′ are back.
Eoin McDevitt, Ken Early, Ciaran Murphy, Simon Hick and Mark Horgan — the team formerly behind Newstalk’s award-winning sports show — have confirmed their return to broadcasting in a new partnership with the Irish Times.
The new “Second Captains @ The Irish Times” will be a weekly show free to stream and podcast worldwide every Tuesday.
The announcement brings an end to weeks of speculation following the team’s high-profile departure from Newstalk.
The quintet surprised listeners in early March when they resigned en masse following “fundamental differences of opinion” with station management regarding the show’s scope and time slot.
Reports suggested that a return to radio or a possible cross-over into television were in the pipeline, but the team were required to serve out two months of “gardening leave” before announcing their next move.
“This month, the only place to hear the Second Captains is with irishtimes.com,” a statement this morning read, wording which suggests that the team may branch out into further projects either collectively or individually in the near future.
Off the Ball has since continued in its nightly 7pm-10pm slot on Newstalk, anchored by one of the show’s original creators Ger Gilroy and co-presenter Joe Molloy.
