ITV Network Ltd, owned by ITV Plc, has sold its 70 per cent stake in spectrum management company JFMG.

ITV Network Ltd, owned by ITV Plc, has sold its 70 per cent stake in spectrum management company JFMG. Arqiva, a broadcast transmission, media services, communications infrastructure and network services provider, has bought the company for £1 million in cash.

The deal marks the next stage in the broadcaster’s turnaround strategy, which has seen the disposal of a string of non-core assets, including a 50 per cent interest in Arsenal Broadband in April for £22.7 million. ITV has received a total of £65 million for its interests in Arsenal from Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which is steered by US billionaire sports tycoon Stan Kroenke.

The sale of the stake ended ITV’s football asset disposal programme. Since February 2007, the broadcaster has also offloaded its holdings in Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds Plc for £17.4 million, its stake in MUTV for £3.3 million and its stake in Liverpoolfc.tv for £15.8 million.

In the first six months of 2007, the commercial broadcaster suffered a 9 per cent year-on-year drop in ITV1’s net advertising revenues to £595 million and a turnaround strategy was put in place. The growth plan, announced in September 2007, set out key growth targets of a three to five per cent compound annual growth over three years, a doubling of ITV’s content revenues by 2012 to £1.2 billion and £150 million in online revenues by 2010.

Since the 2004 merger of Granada and Carlton, the troubled broadcaster has raised more than £620 million through the disposal of non-core assets.