TV3, the Republic's 10-month-old independent television station, made a loss of £1.98 million (€2.51 million) for the three months to May 31st according to CanWest, the Canadian communications company, but the 45 per cent stakeholder is upbeat about its prospects.

The loss is 6 per cent less than the £2.1 million (€2.67) lost in the previous quarter. TV3 stated that revenue was up 14 per cent on the December-February quarter "and the projected losses for the network are less than previously planned". Its expanded news service - to three bulletins a day - was attracting over one million viewers a day, and ratings had increased by 6 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first.

CanWest stated that the station was achieving its targets and the losses were "normal and expected". For the first eight months of its operations, the station has earned revenues of £6.4 million and incurred operating losses of £5.6 million.