rkolsen 1685 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 UTV Media is selling its television stations, in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland, to ITV Plc. for £100m. UTV currently operates the channel three franchise for Northern Ireland and recently launched a station in the Republic of Ireland in January. The deal needs approval from the UK and Irish regulators. UTV Media will retain their group of radio stations which make 60% of their current profit. Once the deal goes through ITV Plc. will operate the ITV franchises in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ITV says there are no current plans to rebrand UTV. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-34508529 Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14727-itv-to-buy-utv-media-n-ireland-republic/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
channel2 981 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Now it's only a matter of time before STV sells their franchises (the former Scottish and Grampian) to ITV plc too... Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14727-itv-to-buy-utv-media-n-ireland-republic/#findComment-137603 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRolyPoly 2526 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Now it's only a matter of time before STV sells their franchises (the former Scottish and Grampian) to ITV plc too... In fact, STV was praised for being the only independent franchise left from ITV. Plus, STV also has STV Glasgow and STV Edinburgh, two of STV's local channels. But what's interesting about this story is that it won't become ITV Northern Ireland like the other regions. Also, it makes sense for UTV Media to rebrand at a later date because it can't remain UTV Media without a TV property. I know this is still developing and we'll see how this goes from here... Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14727-itv-to-buy-utv-media-n-ireland-republic/#findComment-137607 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToriElectra 292 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 I'm just hoping they'll retain the in-vision continuity- UTV is the last outpost of the time-honored tradition, everyone else dropped it in the 80s and 90s. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14727-itv-to-buy-utv-media-n-ireland-republic/#findComment-137612 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2896 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 But what's interesting about this story is that it won't become ITV Northern Ireland like the other regions. Also, it makes sense for UTV Media to rebrand at a later date because it can't remain UTV Media without a TV property. I know this is still developing and we'll see how this goes from here... I'm actually surprised by this. It's the end of an era, but they seem like they're committing to (at least for now) keep some of UTV's visual identity separate. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14727-itv-to-buy-utv-media-n-ireland-republic/#findComment-137617 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1685 Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thought I'd bump this thread as there's been an update. ITV has sold UTV Ireland to John Malone's (who owns Liberty Media and the majority of Starz!) Virgin Media for $11.1 million. Virgin Media bought UTV Ireland's fellow OTA competitor TV3 last year. The deal includes the rights to ITV produced shows for 10 years. http://variety.com/2016/tv/global/john-malone-virgin-irish-broadcaster-utv-1201811849/ UTV, the ITV franchise in Northern Ireland, remains under control of ITV. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14727-itv-to-buy-utv-media-n-ireland-republic/#findComment-154938 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRolyPoly 2526 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thought I'd bump this thread as there's been an update. ITV has sold UTV Ireland to John Malone's (who owns Liberty Media and the majority of Starz!) Virgin Media for $11.1 million. Virgin Media bought UTV Ireland's fellow OTA competitor TV3 last year. The deal includes the rights to ITV produced shows for 10 years. http://variety.com/2016/tv/global/john-malone-virgin-irish-broadcaster-utv-1201811849/ UTV, the ITV franchise in Northern Ireland, remains under control of ITV. Mentioned in "International Out and About" Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/14727-itv-to-buy-utv-media-n-ireland-republic/#findComment-154957 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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