The commission had been set to rule on the merger on June 25. However, the ITV companies are believed to have offered to change their proposals to ease fears that a merged ITV would have a monopoly in the TV ad market.
A statement from the government issued to the stock market said the commission has asked for an extension after ITV responded to two proposed remedies that would prevent ITV dominating the TV sales market.
"I have decided to give the Competition Commission a two-month extension to ensure that all of the interested parties have an opportunity to comment on the alternative remedies that have been suggested and to allow time for proper consideration before a decision is made," Hewitt said.
The extension will also give the commission time to give advertisers and media buyers an opportunity to express their views about the new concessions the companies have offered.
The companies are believed to have offered to change the way ad rates are set to make them relate to the size of TV audience, rather than the current system, which is based on ITV average station pricing.
ITV average station price is calculated by dividing advertising revenue by the number of people viewing the ads in an ITV region.
There are concerns that if this method of calculating the cost of airtime remains in place, a merged ITV could charge what it likes for airtime, because it will control more than 50% of the UK TV ad market.
Confirmation of the deadline will be welcome news following a research note this morning, which indicates that a promised advertising recovery in the autumn is unlikely.
September ad revenues could be down as much as 5%-6%, according to investment bank Morgan Stanley. June ad revenues are set to fall 18%-20%, although this figure is distorted because last year included ads from the World Cup. July and August are each expected to be down between 8%-10%, according to the note.
However, despite the note, both companies' shares were up. Carlton rose 3.8%, or 5p, to 135.75p, while Granada was up 2.9%, or 2.5p, to 87.25p. The reason for this, according to Morgan Stanley media analyst Sarah Simon, is because the whole UK market is up today.
The note is also pessimistic about Carlton and Granada's merger going through. The bank surveyed a number of law firms not connected to the merger, all of which believed that the companies will have to offer significant concessions and will likely have to spin off their sales houses to get it through.
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