The much discussed merger between the two main ITV companies, Granada and Carlton, may be just around the corner. ITV, which began life as a collection of regional independent broadcasters, has been moving towards being one big company following a decade of mergers and takeovers. Granada and Carlton are now the two main players in the field. Word is that if a deal was struck Granada would own two thirds of the combined business, Granada's boss Charles Allen would become chief executive and Carlton's founder Michael Green would become chairman.
Green last night told reporters: "A single ITV is within sight. In a rapidly changing broadcast industry we need to combine to compete effectively. Delay is not in the interest of viewers, advertisers, stakeholders or the future of British broadcasting."
The deal would have to get the approval of competition authorities, and past merger talks between the two have failed to come to fruition, but a united ITV is pretty much an inevitability – the question now is 'when' not 'if'.