Will the Sky-ITV deal benefit your business? Robust scrutiny is essential, says Channel 4
Opinion
Channel 4’s chief commercial officer encourages scrutiny and questions around what the Sky-ITV deal could mean for you.
Yesterday, at Future of Media Manchester, I was asked about the Sky and ITV deal. It was an appropriate question, especially given the many independent agencies in the room and the smaller, fast-growing TV advertisers.
Independent agencies and SMEs aren’t just along for the ride in this industry—they are the future engine room of growth. These, and those at the event, are incredibly important partners to us as we evolve TV advertising for all corners of the economy. If this deal remodels the engine, we had better make sure it doesn’t starve the smaller players of fuel.
A healthy ad market isn’t a spreadsheet exercise—it’s an ecosystem. It influences which businesses can grow, which content gets funded and which voices are heard.
The deal is clearly a major development for our industry, and robust scrutiny is essential. However, I’ve seen little public discussion about what it means specifically for smaller advertisers and independent agencies.
If you aren’t sitting at the table asking questions today, you won’t have a say on the big issues. Think carefully about the implications for your own business. Ask questions. How might buying power be concentrated? What could it mean for access, flexibility and negotiating leverage?
TV has always been the ultimate equaliser for smaller brands —the platform where David can stand toe-to-toe with Goliath and win. If anything changes access to that stage, that slingshot suddenly gets a lot harder to load.
Independent agencies should feel empowered to challenge, scrutinise and seek clarity. This isn’t about taking a position for or against the deal. It’s about ensuring that all parts of the ecosystem understand what it could mean for competition, choice and market access before major changes take effect.
More broadly, all of us, whether we’re small agencies, HoldCos, major brands, SME advertisers, broadcasters or streamers, should be thinking about the future shape of our sector.
As such, the impact of this deal on every corner of the industry deserves careful consideration. That means ensuring independent agencies and advertisers get the same attention as the largest market participants.
Some questions worth considering are: Are you confident your agency will have the same influence, access, and negotiating power? Are your clients aware of what increased consolidation could mean? What does it mean for your ability to secure the best outcome for clients?
And if you don’t know the answers yet, have you asked the questions? So, think about the shape of this sector now.
We all have a stake in that future and a responsibility to help shape it.
Rak Patel is the chief commercial officer at Channel 4