Speaking today (14 October) to a House of Lords Communications Committee hearing into the British TV and film industries, Grade said the Competition Commission's decisions to block Project Kangaroo - the proposed catch-up service from ITV, Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide - was a huge mistake.
The commission blocked the venture from launch in February after it deemed it too much of a threat to competition in the nascent UK video-on-demand market.
Grade said: "As a result of the Competition Commission turning down the decision to launch Project Kangaroo, I guarantee an American company will take the lion's share of our content in the UK very soon."
When asked which US companies he was referring too, he answered: "Google or Hulu. Hulu is looking to launch in the UK. As a result of the commission's decision, UK creative money will go to the Americans and not get reinvested in the UK."
Grade said ITV faced huge competition from the internet and therefore had to be free of regulation that would discourage it from investing in programming
Earlier this year, he announced he was to step down as executive chairman of ITV, sparking a hunt for a new chief executive. Speaking to the committee, Grade said: "It was time to clear the decks and leave it to the next generation."
The Lords launched the inquiry in February to look at the contribution of the British TV and film industries to the British economy.
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