Sky buys ITV’s TV division: the British anti-Netflix alliance is born
Deal worth up to £1.6 billion. Comcast strengthens Sky’s position in free-to-air TV, pay-TV and streaming. ITV will become an independent company focused on its studios
Rumours of the deal had been circulating for some time. Now it is official. In the UK, Sky, a subsidiary of Comcast, has reached an agreement to acquire ITV’s Media & Entertainment division in a deal worth up to 1.6 billion pounds, including debt. It is a business move, but also a political response to the new global order in the audiovisual sector: on the one hand, Netflix, YouTube and American platforms; on the other, traditional broadcasters, forced to choose between downsizing or merging.
The scope of the agreement covers ITV’s free-to-air channels and the ITVX streaming platform. The deal is worth £1.2 billion in cash upon completion, plus the transfer to ITV Studios of Love Productions – the Sky company that produces programmes such as “The Great British Bake Off” and “The Piano” – valued at 200 million, plus a further potential 200 million linked to advertising revenue performance in 2027.
Antitrust authority’s ‘Caglio’ operation
The deal is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2027, following scrutiny by the authorities. The competition authority’s review will be one of the most sensitive stages: the deal brings together the UK’s two largest commercial broadcasters and will give Comcast control of a broadcaster capable of reaching 21 million households.
For ITV, this marks the end of one era and the beginning of another. Following the sale, the group will remain listed in London but will effectively become ITV Studios, a company focused on the production and distribution of content. The group expects net proceeds of around £1.05 billion, after transaction and separation costs estimated at £185 million. Part of this will be used to reduce debt; the remainder – around £950 million – will be returned to shareholders, amounting to 25 pence per share.
Andrew Cosslett, Chairman of ITV, explained the decision as follows: “For over seventy years, ITV has played an important and valuable role in the country’s public life. At a time of rapid change in the sector, it is right that ITV’s crucial role as a public service broadcaster should now be safeguarded, and this transaction achieves that objective, with ITV’s Media and Entertainment division joining forces with Sky to create a UK champion with the scale and resources needed to compete effectively with global streaming platforms”.
