Potential ITV buyers hold fire

Two leading American TV moguls tipped as potential buyers for the UK's ITV network have said their plans depend on the outcome of the Carlton-Granada merger.

Speaking at the Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge, Haim Saban - a TV tycoon who built his fortune on the popular Power Rangers children's TV characters - confirmed his interest in ITV, the UK's biggest commercial broadcaster.

However, he added that he would not proceed with a bid for the network if the two main companies behind it - Carlton and Granada - were obliged to sell their advertising sales divisions as a condition of their planned tie-up.

"Our level of interest if they have to divest ad sales goes down to zero. We will not invest one dollar," he said.

Carlton and Granada, battered by a protracted slump in the television advertising market, have been planning to join forces since October last year.

The proposed merger was investigated by the competition authorities earlier this year due to concerns over its impact on the television advertising market.

Dealbreaker?

The government is widely expected to approve the tie-up, but Carlton and Granada may be ordered to sell off their television advertising departments as a condition of the deal going ahead.

Separately, Mel Karmazin, president of US media giant Viacom, told the Reuters news agency that Viacom also regarded ITV as a potential acquisition target.

But he too stressed that Viacom's final decision would depend on how the Carlton-Granada merger panned out.

"We would look at (a merged ITV company)," he said.

"But we would want to know what the merged business would look like first."

Carlton and Granada themselves have argued that any attempt to force a disposal of their advertising sales divisions would rob the merger of most of its benefits, and could lead them to reconsider their plans.

The government, which has been weighing up a report into the proposed merger from the competition watchdog since mid-August, is expected to reach a final decision next month.

In June, Mr Saban was reported to be preparing a bid for Carlton and Granada in conjunction with US private equity group Apax Partners.