Firms eye bid for Ireland’s TV3

Major US firms are lining up to bid for Irish commercial broadcaster TV3 after its current owner announced it was scrapping plans for an investment fund.

Emmerdale was lost to newcomer UTV

Private equity firm Carlyle Group is among the parties interested in acquiring TV3 Group from Doughty Hanson, according to Sky News.

US media giant Liberty Global is another of those understood to be eyeing up a bid, following speculation it is also lining up a buyout of UK broadcaster and TV3 stakeholder ITV.

Carlyle, Doughty and TV3 have all declined to comment on the story and no formal bids are understood to have been made at this stage.

Private equity firm Doughty bought TV3 – which is Ireland’s only privately owned, terrestrial, free-to-air, national, commercial TV channel – for around €265m (US$286.7m) in 2006.

But the loss of key soap operas Coronation Street and Emmerdale to newcomer UTV Ireland at the beginning of this year has hit TV3’s market share, and it is understood Doughty will not recoup the money it paid for the company.

UTV, meanwhile, has struggled to garner eyeballs on the same scale as TV3 and RTE since its Republic launch. In January just 73,000 viewers tuned in to watch its first homegrown news programme, Pat Kenny’s Out With the Old – In With the U.