考虑到Carlton和Granada即将合并，广告主们已经同意与两大公司进行会谈。
Granada 的CEO，Steve Morrison 建议本次会谈应以统一后的ITV作为讨论主题。
广告主最关心的是，ITV旗下两大公司的合并会不会引起时段竞争从而抬高时段价格。
“Carlton 和 Granada 一直说合并后ITV会给广告主带来实惠。可是至今他们仍拿不出任何清晰，有说服力的案例。” 英国广告主协会（ISBA）的媒体广告事务主任Bob Wootton这样说。
ISBA将会协调这次会谈，旨在取得广告主满意的结果。
Wootton 先生说“我们希望这次会谈给ITV提供一个平台，来阐释他们的合并将带给广告主怎样的好处。还有，他们准备采取什么样的措施来保证广告时段市场不受合并的影响，以保护广告主的利益。”
上周，在ISBA年度会议上，Morrison先生敦促广告主们尽快适应ITV的合并，他说，只有统一的ITV能抵抗得住BBC和BSkyB带来的竞争压力。
不过广告主们最希望的，还是ITV能保持原先具有竞争力的时段价格。
来源《卫报》，中华传媒网李源编译
Advertisers agree to meet ITV giants
The advertising industry has agreed to hold talks with Carlton and Granada as concern grows about a possible merger of the two companies.
Steve Morrison the chief executive of Granada, suggested the talks following a heated debate between advertisers and ITV executives on the implications of a single ITV.
The advertising industry is concerned a merger of the two biggest ITV companies would be a threat to competition and would drive up the price of airtime.
"Carlton and Granada regularly assert that a single ITV would be in the interests of UK advertisers. However, they have so far failed to make the case clearly and persuasively directly to advertisers," said Bob Wootton, the director of media and advertising affairs at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers.
Isba has agreed to facilitate the talks, aimed at establishing what would be acceptable to advertisers.
"We hope these discussions will give ITV a platform to present clear evidence of exactly how advertisers would benefit from further consolidation, and to clarify what they would be prepared to undertake to ensure that competition in the airtime market was safeguarded following consolidation," Mr. Wootton added.
Speaking at the annual Isba conference last week, Mr. Morrison urged advertisers to accept a merger of Carlton and Granada, saying only a unified ITV could counter the increased competition from a resurgent BBC and a growing BSkyB.
But advertisers are keen to ensure that the sale of airtime on ITV remains competitive.
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