Tom Harrington, from Enders Analysis, said: "It would be unlikely for current shows to leave ITV as there will already be agreements in place."

But splitting the two businesses could make it less likely for new shows to appear on ITV, he added.

Mr Harrington said ITV Studios itself was a "very desirable operation" that was "unencumbered by a legacy linear [TV] business".

Media analyst Claire Enders said a long regulatory process was likely but that a deal would strengthen both public service broadcasters and prolong the mass advertising market.

Gill Hind, managing director and director of TV at Enders Analysis, suggested this could particularly impact streaming.

She told the PA news agency: "ITVX is growing but is still behind iPlayer and Channel 4 in terms of how many of the channels’ viewers use the streaming service.

“There could definitely be streamlining crossover opportunities with Sky able to make their programmes available to ITVX users who wouldn’t usually access their shows." She added that sports coverage could also see shared rights across public and paid-for channels.

Karen Egan, head of Enders Analysis, told The Mail on Sunday it was 'likely' that Liberty would want to sell the rest of its holding in ITV to pump cash into other assets in its empire. 

'It's quite possible it will sell the remaining stake,' Egan said of the ITV holding, though she noted Liberty would need to wait 60 days before selling more of the business. 

She added: 'It might not necessarily sell immediately after that – it'll have to gauge market appetite. But I expect it'll be looking for opportunities to sell.'

Karen Egan, head of telecoms at Enders Analysis, the research specialist, said that while there was a role for government money in crowding-in private investment in nascent industries or subsiding fibre build in rural areas, “becoming the lender of last resort in an intensely competitive market with too many players does not seem like a good use of public funds”.

That has been pretty good for the piggy-backers themselves. They pay wholesale network charges of around £3-£5 a month and pull in average revenue per user of £10 a month, according to Enders Analysis. 

According to Karen Egan, managing director for telecoms at Enders Analysis, "the fit is better" with CityFibre because there is "very limited overlap" between the two networks. With VMO2 and its fiber joint venture nexfibre, there would be 50% overlap with Netomnia. 

But, she added that CityFibre is likely able to offer "very limited cash" and more equity for such a transaction. "So, [it's] better industrial logic [with CityFibre], but in this market, it's difficult to compete with cash," she said.

Egan, with Enders Analysis, noted that nexfibre has recently slowed the pace of its network build. The decision has to do with "the struggle to get the right commercial return on self-build, and looming opportunities to pick up altnet networks more cheaply than the cost of building itself," she said.

Alt net mergers often involve a good chunk of equity, according to Enders Analysis analyst Karen Egan. “We would expect less than £500 per home passed to be paid in anything like hard currency,” she told Bloomberg.

“There will be considerable overlap between Netomnia and Nexfibre, probably more than 50% which would bring down the price worth paying even more,” Egan said.