(Reuters) - Northern Ireland's UTV Media Plc (L:UTV), one of only two remaining independent regional broadcasters in the ITV network, is in talks to sell its TV franchise to the dominant ITV Plc (L:ITV), according to reports.
UTV said on Monday that it was in discussions for a potential sale of its television assets.
"Discussions are ongoing and may or may not result in such a transaction being agreed," the company said in a statement.
The Belfast Telegraph reported on Aug. 22 that UTV was due to sell its television division to ITV Plc (L:ITV) in a multi-million-pound deal. (http://bit.ly/1Jesiem)
An ITV spokesman said, "We never comment on speculation."
UTV's television division accounted for 36 percent of its revenue last year.
The company, which went 'on air' as Ulster Television in 1959 after Sir Laurence Olivier delivered the first official broadcast, said in June that it saw a deeper-than-expected full-year loss from its new Irish television channel as audience growth stalled.
UTV Media said it expected the channel to incur a loss of 11.5 million pounds, higher than the 6 million pounds it had forecast in March, and approved an "action plan" to address the audience shortfall.