BB FANS

British broadcaster ITV is considering a bid for Endemol, the company behind such hits as Big Brother and Deal or No Deal, but is unlikely to be an aggressive suitor, people familiar with the situation said.

New Chief Executive Michael Grade is already faced with the major challenge of orchestrating a turnaround at the flagship ITV1 network, where advertising and viewership is on the decline. Nevertheless, owning more programming is considered a key piece of future success.

"ITV will certainly look at Endemol. Will it bid for it? It might. Whether it will bid aggressively is a different matter," one person familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity, said on Thursday.

"Shareholders might be nervous about buying a 2.5 billion pound ($4.92 billion) asset when there are so many things that need to be fixed," the source added.

An ITV spokesman said the company did not comment on market speculation.

EITB24

Big Brother Business Up For Sale

Endemol, the company that makes Big Brother, is going up for sale.

Its owner, Spanish telecoms group Telefonica, is expected to launch formally the sales process for the Dutch company.

Telefonica is likely to appoint investment bank Merrill Lynch to handle the sale of its stake in the production company that also makes "Fear Factor".

Telefonica paid nearly £3.7bn for the company in 2000.

It says it wants to sell its remaining holding because the business does not fit with its central telecoms operations.

Rumours within the industry last month suggested News Corp and Disney were interested in a purchase but both companies quickly ruled that out.

ITV is apparently considering a bid but insiders say it is unlikely to be too serious about it.

Analysts say private investment firms and Endemol co-founder John de Mol are the most likely buyers.

Ananova