Britain's leading ITV broadcasters Granada and Carlton Communications have terminated talks to merge, it was announced today.
The pair said they had been in talks regarding a possible combination of their businesses, in step with proposed legislative changes in Britain.
A merger between the two - the biggest shareholders in ITV - has long been mooted, to create an ITV giant to take on the global media players.
The decision to not pursue discussions is understood to have been mutual, with no rows or falling out involved, a source close to the talks said.
The talks between the pair, which together own ITV Digital, were held ahead of the expected Communications Bill this year. That follows November's consultation paper on UK media ownership rules, which cleared the decks for the creation of a single ITV company.
