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ITV sells media and entertainment arm to Sky for £1.6bn

Image source,PA Media

ByFaarea Masud

Business reporter

 

ITV is selling its media and entertainment divisions to Sky in a £1.6bn deal that the companies say will create a strong rival to global streaming giants.

The sale includes ITV's broadcast channels and its ITVX streaming service, and Sky chief executive Dana Strong called it "a defining moment for British media".

It is one of the biggest takeovers in British media history, with American-owned Comcast - which owns Sky - having started takeover talks in November last year.

ITV's studio arm, which makes popular programmes such as Love Island and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, is not included in the deal.

"The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK," Sky Group said in a statement.

The firm said there would be no immediate change to popular shows.

"Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events," Sky added.

ITV is required by law to provide a free-to-air service until at least 2034 under its public service broadcasting licence.

The deal is still subject to approval from regulators, but when it is completed ITV Studios will become a standalone business.

Sky said it had agreed to spend £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period.

 

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said the deal would be a "significant step in the reshaping of Europe's media landscape".

"Traditional broadcasters are having to change tactics fast in the battle for audiences whose attention is increasingly fragmented across streaming platforms, social media and online video, making advertising revenues harder to sustain," she said.

Streeter added that the key challenge would be ensuring that moves to cut costs did not come "at the expense of the creative talent, editorial experience and institutional knowledge that have underpinned both organisations' success."