ITV has confirmed reports that it is in talks to sell its Media and Entertainment business to Sky, owned by US broadcaster Comcast.
In a regulatory statement to the city, the broadcaster confirmed it was in “preliminary discussions” for a sale that would value the business at £1.6bn.
“There can be no certainty as to the terms upon which any potential sale may be agreed or whether any transaction will take place,” the statement reads.
Shares of ITV jumped over 15% on Friday in response to the news.
The revelation comes a day after ITV’s media business announced it anticipated a 9% year-on-year decline in Q4 ad revenues, causing the broadcaster to enact £35m worth of spending reductions during the quarter.
For full year 2025, ITV now expects a 6% year-on-year drop in total ad revenues.
ITV warns of another golden quarter ad revenue drop
Media analyst Ian Whittaker noted on BBC Radio 4 this morning that, should Comcast purchase ITV’s Media and Entertainment division, through Sky it would give the US-based conglomerate control over 70% of the UK TV linear ad market.
“In any normal circumstance, that sort of bid would be rejected because of the dominance it would give them in the market,” commented Whittaker, referring to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
“I think probably what Comcast is saying here is ‘we know this is dominant’, but almost daring the UK government to block the deal,” he added.
Analysis: Could a sale be approved by regulators?
The idea that a single entity could have such a vast control of the linear TV ad market would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. But the TV market has changed, and with it the relative financial health of broadcasters like ITV.
Government could be sympathetic to arguments that, while Sky’s ownership of ITV would distort the linear market, the broader TV market is now more diverse due to various video-on-demand services, and thus consolidation could help ensure ITV’s financial health in the streaming era.
As former Media Leader columnist Nick Manning commented: “The platforms are eating ad revenue so the financial issue is whether ITV can stand on its own and still have a viable future.”
He added: “For those of us who want to see TV thrive, this deal represents an opportunity, not a threat.”
The deal notably would not include ITV Studios, the company’s production and distribution arm, which could become fodder for a separate sale.
Earlier this week ITV and Sky’s commercial leads were on stage together at the Future of Media London discussing how the TV industry has broadly collaborated this year on efforts to improve ad revenue by making TV easier to buy for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This includes through a new SME marketplace, slated to launch next year, based on Comcast’s Universal Ads platform. Universal Ads launched in the US this year, and it is plausible that by acquiring ITV’s media business, the UK project could be further accelerated.
The Future of Media London 2025 – Live
This article has been edited after publication to include additional analysis and context.
