Sky expresses interest in UKTV acquisition

BSkyB has expressed interest in buying the recently re-branded UKTV portfolio, which is currently 50% owned and operated by rival Virgin Media.

Speaking at a conference in Florida, Sky’s chief executive Jeremy Darroch said that content companies are in Sky’s sights, according to reports.

“We will look at acquisitions if we think they can advance our strategy, areas like content have been a prime area of focus for us. There’s been some speculation, just by way as an example, around UKTV,” he said.

“I don’t know if that will come back on the market but I think that would be something we would look at,” he admitted.

Last month, reports suggested that Virgin Media was planning to sell its content division, which is thought to be worth around £500 million in total and includes assets such as the company’s 50% stake in UKTV (see Virgin Media’s content business sees Q4 revenue increase).

Earlier in the month, it also emerged that Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide plan to create 4 Worldwide – a joint venture that will comprise of Channel 4’s E4, More4 and Film4 digital channels with some elements of BBC Worldwide (see BBC Worldwide and C4 join forces).

At the time, BBC Worldwide’s chief executive John Smith wrote an article in The Sunday Times hinting that the BBC’s commercial arm would be willing to include “non-BBC branded UK television businesses” in the venture, such as UKTV.

Lord Carter and the culture secretary Andy Burnham have both said they would favour a tie-up between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4 as a solution to C4’s funding deficit.