The role had been set to go to Michael Green, chairman of Carlton. Green lost the position after a shareholder revolt led by Fidelity fund manager Anthony Bolton.
Investors were unhappy at the prospect of Green and Granada chairman Charles Allen taking the two top jobs at the new company after the collapse of ITV Digital, which cost the companies £1.2bn.
There were also concerns that the pair did not get along.
Treves, 63, leaves Channel 4 in the new year after five years as chairman. He is also chair of troubled insurer Equitable Life and has been lauded in the City for his handling of its financial troubles.
Treves was headhunted for the Equitable job by corporate recruitment specialist Zygos, which has been appointed to find a suitable chairman for the merged ITV.
A former commercial lawyer, Treves is said to be looking for another senior role in the City, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday.
The ITV chairman's post is expected to be filled in the new year, while Channel 4 has yet to announce a successor to Treves.
On Friday, the Department of Trade and Industry announced that Carlton and Granada had agreed to the conditions it had set out, which would allow the merger to take place without operating against the public interest.
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