Will ITV ever appoint its new boss?

The last few months have seen much deliberation over who will be the next boss of ITV. Yet it seems it is still a long way off being resolved.

It now appears that a bitter feud has broken out between ITV shareholders over the board's preferred choice to take the helm, the former chief executive of BSkyB, Tony Ball. The row has erupted due to pay demands, which one institution has called "arrogant and greedy."

Ball has been the firm favourite for a while, having been championed by a group of shareholders, including Legal & General, Brandes and Fidelity. But after Ball rejected the GBP£20 million package as too low, it has angered many.

"I think he's demonstrated how he's unsuitable for the job," said one infuriated ITV institutional investor. "I'm not sure I want to be invested in a company with someone so arrogant and greedy in charge."

The GBP£20 million five-year incentive package, was being offered on top of his GBP£1 million salary. Yet Ball is said to be unhappy with this figure. He is quibbling over vesting prices and dates in an effort to raise the deal's value by as much as GBP£5 million. To align his interests with shareholders, Mr Ball is prepared to invest GBP£2 million of his own money in the stock.

Insiders have said that there has been a long-established division between investors over Mr Ball. His appointment is also complicated by BSkyB, the rival broadcaster that is ITV's largest shareholder. Sky paid Ball GBP£10.7 million on leaving to guarantee he would not join the competition for two years. Although Sky does not want to compete with Ball, its 17.9 percent stake is severely underwater as the shares are now just 48.4p compared with the 135p Sky paid.

Because of these hold-ups, a new candidate has emerged to take on the role of chief executive. Peter Fincham, ITV's director of television has been named as a possible leader. Fincham, a former controller of BBC One, had not been in contention to succeed Michael Grade as the top executive of ITV. It is widely believed that he would not stay at the company if Mr Ball were appointed and he is the early favourite to fill the newly vacant chief executive's post at Channel 4.

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