UTV Media may be set to sell TV arm to ITV

UTV Media may sell its TV assets following a failed push into the Republic of Ireland.

In response to speculation over the weekend of a sale to ITV, the company confirmed it was "in discussions regarding a potential sale of its television assets."

On 23 June the company, which makes most of its money from radio stations in Ireland and Great Britain, said that its UTV Ireland TV channel had failed to meet its audience targets for its first half-year of operations.

Management approved measures to adress the shortfall but recognised "that this will take time to deliver the required improvement in viewership."

As a result, the company lowered its guidance for the full-year saying it expected to incur losses of £11.5m in 2015.

One analyst said a sale of the TV arm couth fetch a price tag of between £100m to £125m.

As of 14:13 shares in UTV Media were standing 7.01% higher at 168p after having earlier risen as high as 178p.