THE contract between the third television station TV3, and the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC) will be signed within a few weeks, with the station ready to go on air by the autumn of next year.

Speaking to The Irish Times the managing director of UTV Mr Des Smyth, said the station might be able to go on air within one year of the contract being signed. However the autumn of 1997 might be a more realistic start up date. UTV is a major shareholder in the TV3 consortium.

Mr Smyth was in Galway to address the annual Institute of Advertising Practitioners' media conference.

Mr Smyth would not confirm reports that the one item holding up agreement was UTV's insistence on receiving an annual payment to compensate the company for loss of advertising in the Republic.

It is believed that the IRTC's three member negotiating committee has objected to the new station having to pay an annual fee.

Mr Smyth did say, however, that negotiations had taken much longer than expected, but that discussions were now "going well".

TV3 will be a popular mainstream channel, he said, with an emphasis on the younger end of the market.

The consortium has already committed itself to commissioning 5 per cent of its programmes from the Irish independent programme making sector, rising to 25 per cent within five years.

It is believed the new station intends to spend £2 million on home produced programmes in its first year.