Emap is in talks with Channel 4 to sell half of its television operations in a deal worth £30 million (€40.73m), according to the Financial Times. Such a deal would include valuable capacity on Freeview used by Emap for the broadcast of its music channel The Hits.
Emap has built a portfolio of channels based around its magazine brands including Smash Hits and Q. It is the main competitor to MTV Networks in the UK market, but plans to expand the portfolio into Europe have failed.
Channel 4 is desperate to secure more slots for its portfolio of digital only channels. Earlier this year it was linked with the purchase of Life TV in a deal that would have secured valuable EPG real estate on the Sky platform.