* First-half revenue rises 13 pct to 57.8 mln stg
* First-half pretax profit 10 mln stg vs 6.1 mln stg yearearlier
* Radio GB revenue up 20 pct
* To pay interim dividend of 1.82 p per share (Adds details)
Aug 26 (Reuters) - Northern Irish radio and televisionbroadcaster UTV Media Plc reported a 13 percent rise infirst-half revenue as its radio stations drew in fans for the2014 FIFA World Cup.
The company, which held radio rights to the tournament, saidit expects third-quarter revenue to grow 3 percent, underpinnedby improving economic conditions in the UK and Ireland.
Shares of the Belfast-based company rose 0.6 percent to 211pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.
UTV said in May that it expected a big boost to first-halfrevenue from World Cup-related advertising.
The company reported revenue of 57.8 million pounds ($95.9million) for the six months ended June 30 compared with 51.2million pounds a year earlier.
Pretax profit rose 62 percent to 10 million pounds in theperiod.
"The 2014 FIFA World Cup added a further boost toadvertising spend, with talkSPORT in particular enjoying stronggrowth in the first half of the year," Chairman RichardHuntingford said in a statement.
Revenue at talkSPORT radio station jumped 33 percent,helping revenue at the company's largest division, Radio GB,rise 20 percent to 28.5 million pounds.
Radio GB operates talkSPORT, talkSPORT International, Sportmagazine, 13 independent local radio stations in England andWales.
The increased revenue was not a surprise as the company saidin May that it expected a big boost from the World Cup.
UTV said on Tuesday it expected a 5 percent increase inRadio GB revenue and a 7 percent rise in talkSPORT revenue inthe third quarter.
The company announced an interim dividend of 1.82 pence pershare, up from 1.75 pence a year earlier. ($1 = 0.6028 British Pounds) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Roshni Menon; Editing byRodney Joyce)
