Allen is reported to have made the comments following his appearance before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee yesterday, where he called for the BBC's commercial operations, including BBC Worldwide, to be privatised.
According to the Financial Times, Allen said that such a move could open the door for a joint-venture company to coordinate international sales of programmes from a raft of UK channels, including Channel 4 and Five, as well as the BBC and ITV.
He told the FT: "If BBC Worldwide was privatised, the bigger picture would be putting together all of the UK's content in a joint venture to sell internationally."
The export of home programming is an increasingly lucrative market for UK broadcasters. Total export sales for 2003 were reportedly more than £490m, a 22% increase on the previous year.
Allen was giving evidence on behalf of ITV to the select committee as part of its review of the BBC's 10-year charter. In his submission, ITV has also asked for Ofcom to be given full regulatory responsibility for the BBC.
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