Sky has agreed to acquire ITV’s television business for £1.6 billion (€1.86 billion) in a deal that unites the UK’s two largest commercial broadcasters as they bulk up to fend off the existential threat posed by US streaming giants Netflix and YouTube.
The combination will leave US media group Comcast, which bought Sky in 2018, in control of a broadcaster that reaches 21 million households.
As well as reaching a wider audience — across traditional television and streaming — the deal will enable Sky to attract a greater share of advertising spend at a time when broadcasters are facing an uncertain future.
The sale will comprise £1.2 billion in cash initially, in addition to the transfer of Sky’s Love Productions business for an agreed enterprise value of £200 million. Sky will pay an additional £200 million in cash subject to advertising targets being hit in 2027.
READ MORE
ITV said it would return about £950 million to its shareholders as a result of the deal.
The deal will secure a minimum spend commitment of £2.1 billion from Sky’s new broadcast business for content from ITV Studios between 2028 and 2032.
Dana Strong, chief executive of Sky, said this was a “defining moment for British media and an opportunity to build a stronger future for two of the UK’s most loved and trusted brands”.
The British media industry has gone through a period of radical change over the past two decades as audiences have shifted from broadcast TV to tech giants such as YouTube and US streamers such as Netflix.
The decline in traditional TV is even more marked among younger audiences, with Ofcom saying last year that less than a quarter of 16-24-year-olds’ in-home viewing is now of content from broadcasters, compared with 90 per cent for those aged over 75.
The deal will be heavily scrutinised by competition authorities, with a detailed inquiry seen as a certainty among executives who warn that the deal probably will not complete until next year. - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
