US moguls 'want to buy ITV'

The ITV channel is proving a tempting offer to buyers

Two of America's biggest TV moguls have said they may be interested in buying the UK's ITV channel.

Haim Saban and Mel Karmazin said they would consider bidding for ITV's controlling companies Granada and Carlton, if the firms were given the go-ahead to merge into ITV plc.

Mr Saban is a billionaire programming mogul who made his fortune through children's TV characters such as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and Mr Karmazin is president of Viacom, which owns MTV, CBS and Paramount.

The two were speaking at the Royal Television Society's annual convention in Cambridge.

Mr Saban said he planned to work on a bid for Granada and Carlton if the merger went ahead.

However, he said he would "not invest a dollar" if, as some analysts think is likely, the regulator insists the firms sell off their advertising sales units as a condition of the merger.

"We like the broadcasting business, we think that under the right circumstances ITV would be a great opportunity," he said.

Haim Saban would lose interest if ITV's advertising sales units were sold

Mr Karmazin said Viacom wanted to spread its wings outside the US, but said: "We would look at [a merged ITV company] but we would want to know what the merged business looks like first."

Trade secretary Patricia Hewitt is expected to give a final decision early next month on whether and how the merger can go ahead, following a study by the competition commission.

The recent Communications Act is at the same time lifting long-standing restrictions on foreign ownership of UK media assets.

Carlton chairman Michael Green said he was not surprised that the merged company appeared tempting to buyers.

"I hope that a merged ITV plc is a very attractive company - the object of the exercise is to make ITV plc a very attractive company, that's what every manager is paid to do," he said.

But BBC media correspondent Nick Higham said the Americans were not likely to pay the price Mr Green thinks his company is worth.

Survival 'necessary'

Granada and Carlton bosses hope the merger will help solve ITV's recent financial troubles.

Pop Idol has boosted ITV's Saturday night ratings

The channel's advertising revenue has been falling and its overall share of viewers has been overtaken by BBC One.

Audiences have however been maintained in peak time, and Pop Idol has boosted flagging Saturday night ratings.

Its troubles have also been blamed on it investing £1.2bn in ITV Digital before it collapsed, and spending 10% of ITV's budget on Premiership highlights without being able to recoup costs.

BBC director general Greg Dyke recently said British television needed the ITV network to survive if the industry was to maintain quality and balance.