© ITV
Speaking at the London School of Economics during a debate on the future of the media, Hunt said that he was not a fan of the Contract Rights Renewal (CRR) mechanism, which governs advertising airtime sales on ITV1.
The minister told the audience on Wednesday night that the power to change the CRR legislation was transferred to him before Christmas, reports the Financial Times.
Previously, the ability to ditch or reform the CRR was held in a complex pattern of competition law under the responsibility of business secretary Vince Cable.
However, Cable was stripped of all his media powers by David Cameron after being secretly recorded saying he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch.
Hunt said that the timetable for change to the CRR would be linked to the planned Communications Act, which the government hopes to have enacted by the end of 2012.
A person close to ITV said that the broadcaster was surprised by the change, especially as a government source appeared to rule out an end to the CRR last month.
ITV would be delighted if Hunt does tackle the regulatory mechanism, which is estimated to cost the broadcaster tens of millions in lost advertising revenues every year.
Hunt has also inherited from Cable the tough job of arbitrating on the controversial bid by Murdoch's News Corporation to take full control of pay-TV giant Sky.
The culture secretary must decide whether the deal poses sufficient threat to media plurality in the UK that it should be subjected to a lengthy Competition Commission probe.
At the LSE event, Hunt said that he fully expects his decision to be "judicially challenged by the side that is disappointed".
