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Senior executives at ITV have launched a desperate last-minute attempt to prevent former BSkyB boss Tony Ball being appointed chief executive of the commercial broadcaster.
Ball's appointment could be approved by the ITV board as early as tomorrow despite reports he has been wrangling with Sir James Crosby — chair of the nominations committee — over his pay package.
A number of important ITV employees have written to Crosby asking him to re-open the recruitment process to look at new and internal candidates again.
Sources close to Ball say he was offered the job last week and has virtually agreed an incentive package similar to that of Michael Grade who has been executive chairman of ITV for the past three years. But other sources claim that Ball has demanded a hefty signing-on fee which Crosby is not willing to agree.
ITV shares hit a 15-month high of 55.1p, up 0.5p, on hopes that the Sky man's appointment is imminent.
Ball is in a strong position because he is the last of the short-listed candidates drawn up by headhunters Russell Reynolds after HMV's Simon Fox pulled out of the frame last month.
In his final year at Sky — which he left in November 2003 — Ball was paid £13.2 million including a £10.7 million payment for agreeing to a non-compete deal for the next two years. Since then he has made a further fortune as chairman and sizeable investor in Germany's biggest cable company Kabel Deutschland.
Grade took a £1 million pay cut last year down to £934,000 and agreed to a pay freeze this year. But he has options over nearly 3 million shares under the ITV turnaround plan.
The signing of Ball to ITV has amused many in tellyland as they expect a massive clash of egos with Grade who wants to stay on as non-executive chairman.
But among those slightly lower down the food chain, Ball's arrival would evince less humour. Peter Fincham, director of television, is not expected to hang around particularly if Ball, as reported, sells off ITV Productions which makes Coronation Street.
The futures of chief operating officer John Cresswell and brand and commercial director Rupert Howell are also in doubt. Cresswell was told by the headhunters he did not have enough experience as a public company director when he himself applied for the top job.
