Comcast-owned Sky has agreed to purchase the media and entertainment arm of British broadcaster ITV for £1.6 billion, a transaction that merges the country’s largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster with its dominant pay-TV operator. The deal, announced on 6 July 2026, includes ITV’s terrestrial channels and the ITVX streaming service but explicitly excludes ITV Studios, the production business behind shows such as Love Island and Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Under the terms, ITV receives £1.2 billion in cash, the Love Productions business valued at £200 million, and a potential further £200 million earn-out tied to advertising performance. Sky has also committed to a minimum £2.1 billion content spend with ITV Studios over 2028–2032.

The strategic logic, viewed from London, is a direct response to structural shifts in audience behaviour. Linear television audiences are in decline as viewers migrate to streaming and digital platforms; UK regulator Ofcom notes that less than a quarter of programming watched by under-24s now comes from traditional broadcasters. By combining ITV’s mass reach and public-service prominence with Sky’s subscription base and addressable advertising infrastructure, the companies aim to build a domestic champion with the scale to compete against YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Disney. Analysts in the City point out that the merged entity would account for approximately 70 per cent of the UK linear TV advertising market, including third-party sales, a concentration that will frame the regulatory debate.

Both companies have flagged operational overlaps that will lead to job reductions, primarily in corporate and commercial functions, as part of a £200 million annual cost-saving target within three years. Sky employs around 20,000 staff in the UK, while ITV’s media and entertainment division has roughly 2,400. Executives have stressed that the majority of savings will come from technology, marketing and overseas content rather than headcount, though they declined to specify the number of roles affected. ITV Studios will be spun out as a standalone listed company, supplying content to the combined entity and other global buyers.

The transaction is subject to a regulatory review expected to last 12 to 18 months, with both competition and public-interest tests likely. Lawmakers in Westminster have signalled that news provision, regional programming and advertising market power will be central to the assessment. Sky has indicated that Sky News and ITV News will remain separate editorial operations, and ITV’s public-service broadcasting licence, which mandates free-to-air delivery until at least 2034, will remain in place. The review’s outcome will determine whether the deal proceeds in its current form or requires remedies such as divestiture of third-party advertising sales contracts.