'Popworld', which airs nightly on MTV and on Channel 4's T4 Sunday morning slot, is owned by the Spice Girls former manager Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment.
UBC, owner of Classic FM Gold, is planning to extend the brand into digital radio and sell syndicated programming to commercial radio stations, with discussions already in advanced stages with several companies.
The deal follows news at the weekend that Fuller is suing former collaborator Simon Cowell, who is behind ITV1's 'The X Factor'. Fuller claims that 'The X Factor' is a copy of 'Pop Idol'.
Robert Dodds, chief executive of 'Popworld', said: "It is our intention to broaden our media platforms and radio offers an immediate opportunity to extend our unique brand values and exploit our content."
UBC paid £250,000 for a 12.5% share of the venture with an option to increase its holding to 25% by January 2005. Channel 4's 4Ventures is taking an undisclosed stake.
Simon Cole, chief executive of UBC Media, said: "We believe that the future of digital radio is about strong brands which can be exploited across multiple platforms. We expect 'Popworld' to be profitable this year. The programme is one of the few music shows on terrestrial television with a growing audience share -- up by 9% this year."
UBC Media supplies content to radio, internet and digital television industries in the UK.
Channel 4's commercial arm 4Ventures has been responsible for securing major sponsorship deals including the Carphone Warehouse's lucrative Talk Talk deal for 'Big Brother 5'. It is not clear what it intends to do with its 'Popworld' stake.
This is the second time UBC and Channel 4 have been linked this year, after announcing plans to develop a national digital radio station based on its OneWord talk radio format to rival highbrow BBC Radio 4.
The partnership is still in talks with Digital One, owner of the national digital radio network which will be home to the channel, and Ofcom, the communications watchdog, which must approve changes to OneWord's radio remit.
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