Carter Is Favourite For Top ITV Job

Former Ofcom boss, Stephen Carter, has re-emerged as the frontrunner to take the top job at ITV.

Carter, who was recently put on extended gardening leave (see Carter Stuck On Gardening Leave), is said to have his name at the top of the list for the role of chief executive at the broadcaster, which Charles Allen resigned from in August (see Charles Allen Prepares To Step Down).

City head-hunters, Zygos, have drawn up the list, which according to a report in yesterday’s Observer, has been sent to ITV chairman Sir Peter Burt, who himself is said to be looking to leave the troubled company (see ITV Chairman Expected To Go).

Burt will now consider which candidates to interview after consulting with other heavyweight non-execs on the ITV board.

Analysts have told the newspaper that Carter has all the right credentials for the post. One is quoted as saying: “Stephen is surely the right choice – he knows about technology and broadband from his time as managing director at NTL; he knows about the importance of creativity as former head of advertising group J Walter Thompson, and has invaluable knowledge about the regulatory landscape after his time at Ofcom.”

ITV’s shareholders are said to be fractious over the length of time it is taking to find Allen’s replacement. Last week ITV’s house broker, UBS, downgraded its target price for the broadcaster’s shares, warning that advertising revenue for ITV1 will fall by as much as 13% this year.

ITV had a difficult summer with ratings and revenue declines. Recently, the broadcaster referred the Contract Rights Renewal agreement to the Office of Fair Trading, in a bid to have it scrapped, with the company blaming the CRR for some of its problems (see ITV Refers CRR To OFT).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com