RTL silences bid speculation with commitment to Channel 5

LONDON - RTL, the European broadcaster owned by Bertelsmann, will say today that its UK expansion plans will centre on its stake in Channel 5 - killing off speculation that it might bid for Carlton or Granada.

The RTL CEO, Didier Bellens, will tell investors that the UK's fifth terrestrial broadcaster is RTL's "vehicle for growth".



The announcement will come as the broadcaster's full-year results are released today.



Speculation has been rife for months that RTL was ready to abandon its 65% stake in Channel 5 and prepare a bid for either one of the ITV companies or the whole network following a successful merger between Carlton and Granada.



Bertelsmann, which owns 89% of RTL, held initial talks last Autumn with Carlton, but these came to nothing and the parties have not spoken since.



Rumours of an RTL bid for an ITV company revived with the breakdown of merger talks between Granada and Carlton last week. The merger talks stalled over disagreements about their digital terrestrial TV venture, ITV Digital.



ITV Digital, which has already suffered losses of £800m since launching, is due to lose millions more this year before it breaks even in 2003.



RTL is expected to commit to further investment in Channel 5 in an effort to grow the broadcaster's share of the UK terrestrial TV market. The five-year-old station currently has about 6% of the market with plans to grow to 10%



RTL owns 65% of Channel 5 with the remaining 35% being held by United Business Media. United has in the past resisted pressure for further investment.



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