Media Guardian: ITV faces battle for control of Ireland's TV3
Emmerdale at 7pm, followed by Corrie at 7:30. There's another show at 8pm but it's back to Corrie half an hour later. Nope, not tonight on ITV1, but tonight on TV3, Ireland's commercial broadcaster which takes 60% of its programming from a certain ITV Productions. Not that you'd ever tell from their schedule...
Funnily enough, TV3 is 45% owned by ITV plc - a stake which the company inherited from Granada. And they're after the rest, in the first big TV related purchase the company has made.
Of course they're not the only ones in the ring - Setanta are interested, and no doubt thinking of bolstering their position in a digital world, UTV are also looking at spending some cash.
UTV in particular has an unknown future post analogue switch off - no doubt the reason for its ever increasing radio empire. But TV3 would give it a big boost - Ireland wide access to ITV programming, and giving ITV plc an incentive to work with UTV in Northern Ireland rather than work against it. Or indeed, just purchase the company once and for all and have done with it.
ITV however has deep pockets, and has the right to match any received bid. A purchase almost seems inevitable. ITV1 Eire anyone?
