A £31.5m takeover bid by UTV for three commercial radio stations in Cork has been blocked by the Independent Radio and Television Commission.
The Commission, which is meeting today in Cork, rejected an application by County Media - the parent company of the three stations - to change the ownership of the company.
The proposed 100% takeover by UTV of County Media breaches IRTC policy which stipulates that existing media companies cannot hold more than 27% of another radio service.
But the IRTC says it will review its overall policy in relation to the ownership of radio stations in April and has indicated that it might be open to reconsider UTV's bid in the context of this review.
