ITV eyes ‘Peppa Pig’ buy

The owner of UTV Ireland, ITV, is pursuing a takeover of Entertainment One, the $1.1bn (€970m) Canadian company that owns the rights to popular children’s cartoon Peppa Pig, according to sources.

The broadcaster, whose shows include soap opera Coronation Street, has held talks with Entertainment One about a possible deal, the sources said. Shares of Entertainment One rose the most in more than four years in London.

Peppa Pig would bring to ITV a TV franchise with more than $1bn in worldwide retail sales in 2015, and further the London-based broadcaster’s expansion into production as it cuts reliance on network advertising.