The consortium, involving former BBC director-general Greg Dyke, Apax Partners, Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, is understood to be seeking the merger with fellow analogue broadcaster Five to bolster ITV's battle with digital rivals for advertisers and audiences.
According to the Daily Telegraph, any merger is likely to involve the consortium inviting German firm Bertelsmann, which owns 90.4% of Five owner RTL Group, to take a stake in the merged company.
Such a move is likely to face close scrutiny by media watchdog Ofcom, along with the Department of Trade & Industry and the Office of Fair Trading.
The paper also says the consortium is seeking to further bolster efforts in the digital market and would re-enter ITV into the pay-television market, even though its last attempt ended with the collapse of ITV Digital.
Services such as Top Up TV, which gives Freeview viewers extra channels, are seen as likely avenues for such a move.
These latest developments are set to form part of an improved approach to the ITV board, which has concerns about an initial offer that involves handing over a £3.5bn special dividend to shareholders and increasing the company's debt.
Dyke, who is a former chairman of Five when it was Channel 5, is likely to be installed as chief executive in place of Charles Allen should the consortium succeed.
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