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Broadband and media giant Sky UK (Comcast) is reportedly engaged in “preliminary” talks over the possible £1.6bn acquisition of ITV’s broadcasting business, specifically the company’s Media and Entertainment divisions, which include both their free-to-air TV channels and the ITV X video streaming service.
The traditional TV broadcasting business is currently coming under immense pressure from both a rise in the use of video streaming services (Netflix, Prime [Amazon], YouTube, Disney+ etc.) and the future switch-off of terrestrial TV services – expected to occur during the 2030s (licences that support DTTV are due to expire in 2034) – in favour of streaming TV channels over broadband.
Suffice to say that consolidation and innovation may help to balance against that, while such a sale would also see the pair controlling over 70% of the UK’s TV advertising market (although ITV did just forecast that its ad revenues would be 9% lower in the last quarter of 2025). According to the BBC News, such a situation might normally raise a few regulatory red flags, but the rise in competition from streaming services does tend to change that dynamic (it might now be viewed as more of a rescue deal).
However, the deal would not include ITV Studios, which creates a number of “popular” TV shows (Love Island, One Piece, Alan Bates vs The Post Office etc.). The news also follows shortly after Liberty Global sold off half its 10% stake in ITV, which could turn out to have been premature (i.e. if a deal is done, their stake might have ended up being worth more).