ITV has said it is in “preliminary” discussions to sell its broadcasting business to Sky for \u00a31.6bn, a move that could reshape the UK’s television landscape.<\/p>\n
The talks focus on ITV’s Media and Entertainment division, which includes its free-to-air TV channels as well as the ITV X streaming service.<\/p>\n
The discussions with Sky, which is owned by US-based Comcast, come as the television industry faces fierce competition from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.<\/p>\n
The deal would not include ITV’s production arm – ITV Studios – which makes popular programmes such as Love Island and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.<\/p>\n
Comcast, which owns Universal Studios, bought Rupert Murdoch’s Sky in 2018 and is a major player in the US media landscape. <\/p>\n
It owns NBCUniversal, which contains the NBC and CNBC channels, DreamWorks Animation and streaming service Peacock.<\/p>\n
Media analyst Ian Whittaker told the BBC’s Today programme that a combination of Sky and ITV would mean they had “70% plus” of the UK TV advertising market, which he said “in normal circumstances” would be rejected by regulators because of the dominance it would give them.<\/p>\n
But he added that with rising competition from the streaming services raising questions over the future of TV, a takeover could be seen as almost a rescue deal.<\/p>\n
Sir Peter Bazalgette, television executive and producer, who was chair of ITV until September 2022 and is a shareholder in the company, told the Today programme that the deal made sense given the pressure from streamers.<\/p>\n
On the question of whether a Sky-ITV link up would run up against competition issues, Sir Peter said the regulator needed to “redefine” what the advertising market is.<\/p>\n
He said Google and Facebook owner Meta should be treated as the rivals, not the traditional TV advertising market.<\/p>\n
Talking about ITV’s TV channels, he said: “Free to air channels across world are not seen to have a great amount of value,” adding that “there’s going to be an inevitable consolidation of domestic broadcasters all across Europe”.<\/p>\n
Mr Whittaker said streaming was where the growth was for broadcasters – even though with established streamers “the penetration rates have started to level off in the past couple of years” in the UK. <\/p>\n
He added that competition was also now coming from YouTube TV, which showed live events such as sports and news.<\/p>\n