AN AMBITIOUS cross-media group is to snap up Southampton and Portsmouth's ill-fated commercial TV channels.

Milestone Group Plc has agreed to buy free-to-air TV licences for £25,000 from MyTV Network, which was placed into administration by the receivers last month after running aground financially.

Abbingdon based Milestone is seeking to become a significant player and already has a number of media bases covered.

They include a free "pick-up" newspaper, called the Basingstoke Observer, and Kestrel FM, a north Hampshire radio station.

The licences - subject to formal approval by the Office of Communications - will extend the group's advertising reach to a potential audience of 590,000 in Southampton and Portsmouth.

These licences are to be relaunched under its SIX TV brand, said to attract a daily reach of 18 per cent of the potential audience for its existing Oxfordshire based service.

It is a widely-held belief among financial experts that community TV is notoriously difficult to run at a profit.

Andy Craig, the chief executive of Milestone, addressed that concern, saying the group can "maintain a low-cost and efficient media business".

He said: "While these south Hampshire TV channels may have found it difficult to survive as stand-alone entities, we are confident that as part of an enlarged Milestone Group we will be able to operate a successful commercial station that will enjoy strong synergies and economies with our existing local TV licence, SIX TV The Oxford Channel."

Southampton TV was launched on channel 29 in October 2002 at the Sir James Matthews Building in Above Bar in the city.

The project was dogged by internal disputes, financial difficulties and redundancies, ending in an employment tribunal.

My TV Network, employs ten full-time staff and six freelancers.