Just months after being launched, UTV’s Irish television station could be offloaded along with the rest of the group’s TV assets.

UTV’s Irish radio division — which includes Cork stations 103 and 96FM, Dublin’s Q102 and FM104 and Limerick’s Live 95FM — provided the main impetus to the Belfast- based-broadcasting group’s first half results.

Multi-media group UTV has announced a 30% hike in operating profit before exceptional items to £12.4m (€18.2) for the six months to the end of June. The corresponding figure last year was £9.6m (€14.1m).

UTV’S radio station U105 celebrated research figures from Radio Joint Audience Research showing it has 63,000 listeners per week in its first six months.