It had been touted for a while, but Virgin Media has finally sold its 50% stake in UKTV to US cable giant Scripps for around £340 million. Scripps – which owns popular channels like Food Network and HGTV – goes into business with BBC Worldwide, the other stakeholder.

Scripps has been expanding aggressively outside the US in recent times: “UKTV is a significant opportunity for Scripps to participate in a thriving multi-channel, dual revenue stream media business in one of the world’;s largest television markets,” explained Kenneth Lowe, chairman, president and chief executive of Scripps Networks Interactive: “Making a solid investment in UKTV and entering into a strong partnership with BBC Worldwide reinforces our core international strategy which we believe will create significant value for our shareholders.”