Chorus, the cable TV company that supplies a service to about 200,000 homes around the State, has said there will be no interruption in service despite the company being placed under the protection of the courts.
The company has debts of €385 million and is continuing to accumulate significant losses.
However, its owner yesterday insisted it was optimistic about its future.
Chorus is believed to have been up for sale for the past year but had been unable to find a buyer.
Independent News & Media, publishers of the Irish Independent, yesterday sold its 50 per cent share to the other stakeholder, Liberty Media Corporation, of the US, for a nominal sum.
The Abbey Street company has invested more than €100 million in Chorus since it first became involved in the firm in 1989.
In the High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Peter Kelly appointed Mr John McStay as examiner to Princes Holdings Ltd and Chorus Communication Ltd, two companies at the top of the Chorus group.
Chorus chief executive, Mr Phil Freedman, said there would be no disruption of services.
He said the company planned to offer digital TV and broadband data services to most of the homes in the Chorus service area.
The company's creditors include the State, by way of monies due to the communications regulator, ComReg, and IDA Ireland.
It initiated a huge lawsuit against the State some years ago, alleging failure by the government to act against unauthorised competitors. That action is still live.
During the technology boom in the late 1990s, billions of euro were spent around the world on cable TV companies that have since plummeted in value.
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