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ITV has said it will hand £100 million to shareholders following Sky’s £1.6 billion deal to buy the company’s media and entertainment business.

It came as ITV reported a boost to advertising revenues from the World Cup, helping to offset a £20 million hit from recently introduced rules about advertising less healthy foods.

Boss Carolyn McCall said the company had delivered a “solid” performance over the first half of 2026.

It comes after ITV struck a deal, earlier this month, to sell its media and entertainment division to Sky, in a move which will create a major competitor to the global streaming giants.

The sale includes ITV’s terrestrial TV channels and streaming service ITVX but does not include its production arm, ITV Studios, which makes shows including I’m A Celebrity and popular dramas, such as Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

On Friday, ITV said it would start a share buyback programme to hand £100 million to shareholders following the deal.

It said the move is part of an early return of £950 million in total cash returns set to be secured from the £1.6 billion deal.

The group’s board also confirmed a half-year dividend worth about £60 million.

Bosses at ITV revealed the company saw total group revenues increase by 2% to £1.89 billion for the six-month period, compared with a year earlier.

The media and entertainment arm being sold saw revenues rise 2% on the back of a 3% increase in total advertising revenues.

Advertising revenues accelerated in the second quarter after a boost linked to the World Cup, which “drove strong advertising and sponsorship demand”.

Revenues grew despite pressure from the introduction of less healthy food (LHF) regulations on advertising last year, which had a roughly £20 million impact over the past half year.

Meanwhile, pre-tax profits increased by 16% to £78 million for the half-year.

Ms McCall said: “ITV delivered a solid first half performance and we remain on track to deliver our full-year guidance, including good revenue growth in ITV Studios and strong, profitable digital revenue growth within media and entertainment.

“ITV Studios’ H1 performance reflects the year-on-year phasing of our production slate, with revenue, profit, and margin weighted as usual towards the second half of the year as previously guided.

“This reflects a significant volume of large deliveries and high-margin licensing deals in H2, over which we have good visibility.”