Already there are fresh rumblings that investors will try to remove new chief executive Charles Allen from his post in the same way they managed to oust Michael Green, the Carlton chairman, prior to the merger. Green had been due to take up the chairman's role at the merged broadcaster.
At the weekend, the Sunday Times was reporting that shareholders led by Anthony Bolton, the star fund manager who has been dubbed the City's "quiet assassin", are preparing to move against Allen.
It was Bolton who was behind Green's fall, which has left the newly merged company without a chairman despite Green having been forced from the post last October.
The recruitment process is at an advanced stage and on Friday Greg Dyke, who stood down last week as director-general of the BBC, was linked to the job. It was reported that Dyke could step in either as chairman or as a replacement for Allen within six months.
One candidate who was thought to be in with a good chance of the chairman's job is the former investment banker John Nelson, but he withdrew his candidacy for the job.
Bolton is reported to have been consulting with industry experts and City advisers about Allen's performance. The shareholders want the new chairman to review the role of Allen, who they do not believe has cut enough costs.
However, in an interview this morning Allen told BBC Radio Four's 'Today' programme that he did not fear a Green-type cull and he defended his record on reducing costs.
"We have got to look at what shareholders have asked me to do... we are well on the way to delivering £100m benefits as promised. We are actually performing better than we have done in the past 10 years, which gives us the chance to deliver for advertisers, viewers and shareholders," he said.
Shares in ITV plc, which includes all the former ITV regional franchises except Scottish, Grampian, Channel TV and Ulster, are trading at 140p.
Allen also used his interview on 'Today' to reassure advertisers that the merged company would not use its monopoly to increase ad rates.
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