UTV Media's Irish TV unit reports turnover below expectations

(Reuters) - Broadcaster UTV Media Plc, which is in talks for a potential sale of its television assets, said first-half turnover at its fledgling Irish television channel fell below expectations as growth in audience numbers slowed down. The company said it was implementing a plan to address the audience shortfall at the unit, UTV Ireland, which would include measures such as stronger domestic programming and more effective marketing. UTV Ireland, which has been operational for less than a year, posted a turnover of 4.9 million pounds ($7.56 million) for the six months ended June 30, hurt also by teething issues such as the re-tuning of domestic digital receivers. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)