ITV is expected today to complete a deal to buy 12 Yard, the independent production company, for £35 million in what is a tactical play to secure the first look at new programme ideas before its rival, the BBC.

12 Yard specialises in making gameshows for the BBC, of which the best known are Eggheads and the National Lottery programmes Who Dares Wins and In It To Win It.

The BBC reacted to news of the potential deal by pushing through an output deal with 12 Yard last night for 300 further episodes of Eggheads, the hit BBC daytime quiz show.

One source close to the transaction said: "It's a gutsy play by ITV to acquire a broadcaster that supplies so much content to the BBC and is to all intents and purposes a darling of the BBC."

The source added: "If the BBC kicks up a fuss, ITV will say thank you very much and take Who Dares Wins to ITV1. But maybe it's a sign that the broadcasters are growing up and are realising that it is OK for the BBC to air shows made by ITV and vice versa."

ITV is understood to have agreed to pay £26 million upfront with a further £4 million deferred for three years. There is also a further £5 million earnout over the three-year period, dependent on targets met.

12 Yard had earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of £2.36 million in the year to June 30, 2007 and a turnover of £11.5 million.

The deal is is the first significant move by Dawn Airey, the former BSkyB executive and new director of global content for ITV. She was drafted in earlier this year by Michael Grade, the executive chairman, to help to reinvigorate the troubled broadcaster.

Ms Airey, who joined the commercial broadcaster after a brief and turbulent spell at the failed media start-up Iostar, has been handed a pot of £200 million to spend on acquisitions, made available from the sale of non-core assets such as stakes in Arsenal and in Manchester United TV (MUTV).

The plan is for ITV to produce 75 per cent of ITV1's commissions in-house as part of Mr Grade's strategy to restore growth through the exploitation of international programming rights. ITV is currently thought to produce under 50 per cent in-house.

12 Yard was founded in 2001 by David Young, the former head of BBC light entertainment, who created The Weakest Link.

Mr Young, who is managing director of 12 Yard, owns 45 per cent of the business. Hat Trick Productions, creator of Have I Got News For You and Whose Line Is It Anyway?, owns 50 per cent. The final 5 per cent stake is owned by Andy Culpin, the executive producer. Both Mr Young and Mr Culpin are tied in for a minimum of three years.

12 Yard, advised primarily by Grant Thornton and also in part by Patrick McKenna's Ingenious Media, put itself up for sale in October following the international success of The Rich List (known as Who Dares Wins in the UK), which has been sold to or has deals pending in 20 territories.

It is not the first independent producer ITV has invested in. In July, ITV-owned Granada International acquired a 25 per cent equity holding in the drama producer Mammoth Screen for £1 million, giving it exclusive distribution and development rights.

In May, it also took a controlling 51 per cent stake in a new US joint venture called Jaffe/Braunstein Entertainment.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax