Sky to buy ITV Media and Entertainment in deal worth up to £1.6 billion

LONDON: Britain’s television script is getting a dramatic rewrite, and this time the plot twist is happening in the boardroom. Sky has agreed to acquire ITV Media and Entertainment from ITV plc in a deal worth up to £1.6 billion, marking one of the biggest shake-ups in the UK’s broadcasting and streaming industry as traditional media companies race to strengthen their position against global streaming rivals.

The transaction will see Comcast-owned Sky pay £1.2 billion in cash for ITV’s UK linear broadcasting and streaming business, acquire Love Productions for £0.2 billion, and make up to £0.2 billion in performance-linked earn-out payments, subject to regulatory approvals. ITV Studios has been carved out of the deal and will continue to operate as an independent production business.

The merger combines two of Britain’s largest media brands at a time when audience attention, advertising revenue and streaming subscriptions are increasingly being contested by international platforms. Once completed, the combined Sky and ITV Media and Entertainment business is expected to account for around 20 per cent of all in-home television viewing in the UK, placing it behind only the BBC and ahead of YouTube.

Despite the ownership change, ITV’s free-to-air channels including ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITV Quiz and streaming platform ITVX will continue to operate as free services. The company will also retain its public service broadcasting obligations, including regional and national news, accessibility commitments and UK production quotas. ITVX and ITV’s linear channels will continue to benefit from prominence protections under the Media Act 2024, ensuring strong visibility on connected television platforms.

The deal also secures a £2.1 billion content supply agreement between Sky and ITV Studios over five years, providing long-term backing for British programming and creative sector jobs. The agreement has been structured so that commissioned content will not count towards ITV’s independent production quotas, preserving opportunities for external producers.

Operationally, the companies expect the transaction to deliver approximately £200 million in annual cost synergies by the end of the third year after completion, driven by efficiencies in marketing, technology platforms and non-UK content acquisition.

Viewers are expected to see little immediate change. Popular programmes including Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning and News at Ten will continue, while the combined company plans to make more live sport available free-to-air and enhance streaming through improved technology and content discovery.

Editorial independence will also remain intact. Sky News and ITV News will continue to operate separately under existing Ofcom regulations, while Sky will become an indirect 20 per cent shareholder in ITN following completion. ITV’s long-standing networking arrangements with STV will also remain unchanged.

There will be no immediate impact on employees at either company, although a joint integration team will begin consultations on future organisational structures once regulatory approvals progress. If cleared, the acquisition could redraw the competitive map of British broadcasting, creating a larger home-grown media player better equipped to compete in an increasingly global streaming market.