Granada chairman Charles Allen, who would take the chief executive role at the combined company, is believed to be concerned that if Granada relinquishes its name in favour of the ITV brand it may lose lucrative production work from broadcasters such as the BBC, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Granada's production business is believed to be worth £505m and it produces 56% of ITV's programming. It makes 'Coronation Street', as well as recent big budget dramas such as 'Dr Zhivago' and series like 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here' and 'Popstars: the Rivals', both of which it has sold to the US.
Concerns about the name stem from the fear that a company such as the BBC would be reluctant to use programming made by a rival channel such as ITV.
However, using the Granada name may upset Carlton chairman Michael Green, who is set to take over as chairman of the merged company.
The £2.6bn merger between Carlton and Granada is waiting to be cleared by the OFT and for the government's communications bill to pass through Parliament.
There are grave concerns among ITV competitors and among advertisers about the merger of the two companies' sales houses, which would create a monopoly with over 50% of UK advertising revenues.
However, last week, it was reported that ITV's share of TV advertising was set to slip below 50%.
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