Following weeks of speculation about her departure, MTV Germany chief Christiane zu Salm has confirmed that she is to leave her post, and is in "advanced negotiations" to head News Corp-owned channel TM3.

News Corp took control of TM3, by buying out Herbert Kloiber's TeleMuenchen, earlier this year, but the former women's channel has been on the block ever since. The Kirch Group and German shopping channel HOT Networks, owned by ex-ProSieben CEO Georg Kofler and Leo Kirch's son Thomas, have both been tipped as buyers.

Barely registering a market share of 1%, TM3 is to be relaunched at the beginning of next year with a new scheduling strategy, focussing on interactive live TV.

Zu Salm, who took over the top job at MTV in April 1998, oversaw the move of the channel from Hamburg to Munich and played a key role in winning back audiences from MTV's German competitor VIVA.