The Independent Radio & Television Commission has approved the plan by Granada Media to take a 45% stake in TV3. CanWest will continue to hold 45%, with the rest held by the founding consortium.
The IRTC has also approved a new nine-person board for TV3 consisting of three representatives from each of the shareholders.
The commission says the proposal includes commitments to TV3's programming obligations reflecting the service's Irish ethos.
* The IRTC has also short-listed three applications for the new radio service in Cork city and county.
The consortia - Beat FM, Magic FM and Red Hot FM - will make presentations to the commission in Cork on January 29. A final decision is likely to be made on February 26.
