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Not so long ago, Telewest's Flextech division could contemplate its future with a justifiable sense of self-satisfaction. Its channels, most notably those in the UKTV family, have always performed modestly in the wider scheme of things, but they have arguably been among the greatest success stories in the digital multichannel sector.

Now, Flextech has been pitched into a tangled web. It's not officially in play, of course - ntl and Telewest have, after all, refused even to confirm that they are in merger talks. But if a merger were to proceed, Simon Duffy, ntl's chief executive, has indicated that the cable infrastructure should be the merged company's only focus.

The new organisation could, in short, be shorn of content management and other peripheral distractions, such as the ids sales house as well as the Flextech channel management business.

One option frequently mooted over the past few weeks is a stock-market flotation of Flextech as a spun-off entity. This, however, would be perilous given that its prime asset, UKTV, is run as a 50:50 joint venture with BBC Worldwide, based on programming properties that Flextech does not own. What's more, the BBC has the option to buy the 50 per cent of UKTV it doesn't already own if there are changes to Flextech ownership.

Given that the BBC has been exploring ways to co-operate with Channel 4, it would probably favour an approach from that quarter. Raising the funds could be a problem for Channel 4, however, given its recent boom-bust history where expansion has been concerned.

And there are other more credible possible bidders - such as RTL, a giant in most major European markets apart from the UK. Five, in which RTL holds a majority stake, and ids might be a decent fit on the sales side too.

But what does the advertising market think? Would the loss of Flextech's or ids' independence be a genuine concern? Andy Zonfrillo, the broadcast buying director of MindShare, argues that both sides of the business have tried to bring something unique to the market. He states: "Flextech has made the most of its position in a multichannel environment and has been successful in developing programme franchises. And ids has been proactive on the interactive side of things and in bringing new brands to TV. It is a genuine sales operation that goes out and sells the benefits of the medium - that's not necessarily something you can say about other sales operations out there."

Oliver Cleaver, the European media director of Kimberly-Clark, agrees about ids: "It is very thorough in the way it approaches advertisers.

It does its homework and is consequently able to punch well above its weight. It is hungrier, perhaps, but it also has an approach whereby it is able to talk much more authoritatively about its stations. In particular, it seems closer to programming and scheduling decision-making. It can put together tighter packages than other more committee-orientated sales operations are able to do. It has also been a pioneer not just in selling interactivity but in strategic thinking about interactive TV and how that changes the relationship between consumers and TV sets. We'd like it to stay as independent as possible."

Andy Roberts, the executive buying director of Starcom, would be more concerned about the fate of the ids sales operation than about the programming side. And he reckons a merged company would be wrong to view ids as a distraction. Quite the opposite, he says: "Clearly you can argue that one of the problems cable has had is a lack of focus. And, yes, a merged (cable) company would be better-placed for achieving more focus. But ids, you could also argue, would be a good advocate for that platform and would be well-placed to get the best out of it commercially."

Chris Boothby, the operations director at Vizeum, says the loss of Flextech and ids as independent entities would be disappointing. In particular, he thinks ids is better-placed to maximise the value of Flextech airtime.

He concludes: "It has a unique approach, a clear understanding of what it offers and of its status in the market. It has done a lot of research into the multichannel environment and the digital viewer. It offers a lot more than just spots. It definitely punches above its weight. So it would not be in its interests to see its inventory consolidated into another sales house, because that inventory would inevitably be sold more on a commodity basis."

YES - Andy Zonfrillo, broadcast buying director, MindShare

"Flextech has been very successful in cultivating audiences. A danger would be that some of that would be lost, though it would be in the new owner's interests to continue its track record in developing programme strands."

YES - Oliver Cleaver, European media director, Kimberly-Clark

"The success of the Flextech channels is best measured by comparison with the problems Sky One has had and how long it has taken Sky to fix them. It's apparent if you are an advertiser with a housewife audience."

YES - Andy Roberts, executive buying director, Starcom

"Flextech has found a niche and delivered its own distinctive digital audience on minimal programming budgets. Sky is already strong and we don't really want it to get stronger. An acquisition might make more sense for RTL."

YES - Chris Boothby, operations director, Vizeum

"The argument is that using UKTV is the only way you can effectively advertise in BBC programming, but it's maybe not as golden as they make it out to be. But we don't want further consolidation, especially on the sales side."

Got a view? E-mail us at campaign@haynet.com.