Media Week (April 22) reported that NI was looking at options for improving efficiencies in sales and had appointed Boston Consulting Group to present alternatives.
Now three clear options have emerged and media agencies are being consulted on their views.
The most radical option would see a full merger of the ad sales operations of red-tops The Sun and the News of the World and The Times and The Sunday Times qualities.
Such a move, viewed by some industry experts as the least likely, would result in the biggest efficiencies, with the combining of two jobs into one in many areas.
This might see News Group director of media Mark Chippendale and Times Media trading director Dominic Carter vying for the top sales job in the merged operation.
The second option would involve the merging of the papers' client sales teams.
Times Media's client sales team is headed by business development director Claire Myerscough and is understood to have around eight staff. News Group has a business development team with a similar client focus, headed by head of planning and strategy Terrence Cassano.
The third, least radical option, providing the least cost savings, would involve the setting up of a central sales unit to cut cross-paper deals with the group's biggest advertisers.
Vanessa Doyle, head of press at Initiative, said such a move would be of interest to "key accounts", but could be detrimental to smaller-spending clients.
Another press buyer commented: "With a full sales merger, the danger is that it would lose focus on clients that are only interested in advertising in one title."
News International said it is looking at ways to be more effective and that the review by Boston Consulting Group would be short in duration.
News International is planning to move out of its Wapping HQ and has identified a site in Aldgate as a strong contender for relocation.
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