ITV halts discussions with Ball over chief exec role

Broadcaster ITV today blamed “substantial differences” as it said it had abandoned discussions with Tony Ball about becoming its next chief executive.

ITV said negotiations with the former BSkyB boss stalled amid disagreements, including “a failure to finally agree contractual arrangements”.

Differences also arose over the future chairmanship of the company.

“The committee has therefore concluded that it would not be in the best interests of the company to appoint Mr Ball as ITV plc’s chief executive,” the firm said.

ITV announced in April that industry veteran Michael Grade would step down from his current executive role to become non-executive chairman before the end of the year.

Recent reports have suggested that negotiations hit the buffers because of the size of the remuneration package Mr Ball expected.