ITV has said it is in “preliminary” talks to sell its television business to Sky for £1.6bn.
The talks focus on ITV’s Media and Entertainment division, which includes its television channels as well as the ITV X streaming service.
The talks with Sky, owned by US-based Comcast, come as the TV industry faces fierce competition from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.
The deal would not include ITV’s production arm, ITV Studios, which produces popular shows such as Love Island and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
On Thursday, ITV forecast its advertising revenue would be 9% lower in the final three months of 2025, as advertisers remained wary of expected tax rises in the Budget.
Comcast, which owns Universal Studios, bought Sky from Rupert Murdoch in 2018 and is a major player in the American media landscape.
It owns NBCUniversal, which contains the NBC and CNBC channels, DreamWorks Animation, and the Peacock streaming service.
Media analyst Ian Whittaker told the BBC’s Today program that a combination of Sky and ITV would mean they would have “over 70%” of the UK TV advertising market, which he said “under normal circumstances” would be rejected by regulators because of the dominance it would give them.
But he added that with doubts hanging over the future of television, an acquisition could be seen almost as a rescue deal.
Whittaker said streaming was where the growth occurred for broadcasters, although with established broadcasters “penetration rates have started to stabilize in recent years” in the UK.
He added that competition now also comes from YouTube TV, which shows live events such as sports and news.
A recent report from media regulator Ofcom found that YouTube has become the UK’s second most-watched media service, behind only the BBC.
Large live sporting events, traditionally broadcast on television, may also increasingly move to streaming services as sporting giants such as UEFA look to capitalize on the huge streaming market.
