It is understood that the Department for Culture Media and Sport will not now advertise for the job until the New Year at the earliest, making it unlikely that a successful applicant will be appointed before Easter.
This will leave a massive hole in the senior management of the corporation, which is undergoing a review of its licence fee and next month will replace its board of governors with a BBC Trust, which will have a more arms-length regulatory role.
Grade, who shocked the corporation by taking the role of executive chairman at ITV last month, was to have headed the trust.
He will also be sorely missed during negotiations with the government surrounding the licence fee, because he is well regarded by culture secretary Tessa Jowell. The BBC wants to win a substantial hike in the fee, but this is looking increasingly unlikely.
Among those in the frame for the vacant chairman's post are: veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby; Paul Myners, chairman of Guardian Media Group; and Sir Howard Davies, principal of the London School of Economics.
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