ITV in deal to buy Channel Islands’ independent station

The move will bring an independent corner of its regional network under its ownership.

The terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed.

Channel Television, which is already branded ITV, produces local news and sports for residents of Jersey, where it is based.

It also supplies a service to Guernsey and the other Channel Islands, as well as the long-running children’s television show Puffin’s Pla(i)ce.

The move by ITV will leave STV’s two operations in Scotland and Northern Ireland’s UTV as the only independently owned broadcasters out of 15 channel 3 franchises.

Channel Television is owned by Yattendon, a family-run company which also operates a string of regional newspapers including Cambridge News, Burton Mail and Bedfordshire on Sunday.

ITV still requires the approval of the Jersey competition author- ity.

As well as serving 150,000 people in 54,000 homes across the Channel Islands, the regional broadcaster manages the compliance for some of ITV’s biggest shows, including The X Factor, to ensure they meet regulatory standards.

Last year ITV’s chief executive Adam Crozier announced a five-year plan to fix the basics at ITV by simplifying and consolidating the business.

Yattendon’s newspaper titles have a combined circulation of almost 1.2 million copies per week across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Warwickshire.

ITV was formed in 2004 through the merger of Carlton and Granada.