Sky owner strikes £1.6bn deal to buy ITV broadcasting in ‘rapidly changing’ media landscape - business live

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27m ago

Introduction: Sky owner agrees to buy ITV's broadcasting business in £1.6bn deal

Happy Monday and good morning to those of you who had a late night celebrating England’s win in Mexico.

And to kick off the week: ITV has agreed to sell its broadcasting and streaming business to Sky in a £1.6bn deal, in a move that is expected to create the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster.

The long-awaited deal will include a £1.2bn cash element, which will be payable after the deal completes, as well as the contribution of Sky’s Love Productions business (which makes The Great British Bake Off), for an agreed enterprise value of £200m. Sky will pay an additional £200m in cash, subject to meeting advertising targets in 2027.

ITV said the deal will return around £950m in cash to its shareholders, or 25p per share.

The companies have also agreed to spend at least £2.1bn on content supply from 2028 to 2032. The deal is expected to complete in the second half of next year.

ITV chair Andrew Cosslett said:

At a headline value of up to £1.6bn, the sale of ITV’s M&E division will deliver a significant cash return to shareholders. Crucially, the transaction also unlocks the value of ITV Studios which post completion will be a distinctive pure-play global content business, with a strong track record of success and excellent prospects, further underpinned by a long-term partnership with ITV M&E and Sky.”

Sky chief executive Dana Strong said:

This is a defining moment for British media and an opportunity to build a stronger future for two of the UK’s most loved and trusted brands. We have huge respect for the transformation the ITV team has delivered, particularly its successful move into streaming through ITVX, which has brought fantastic British content to millions of viewers across the UK.

Bringing Sky and ITV Media & Entertainment together combines the very best of free-to-air television, pay TV and streaming, ensuring viewers across the UK continue to enjoy outstanding British programming in a rapidly changing world.

ITV will remain a public service broadcaster at the heart of British life, and we’re excited about the future we can build together.”

Meanwhile last night, the airline easyJet has said it intends to accept a £5.5bn takeover offer by the US investment firm Castlelake that would take Britain’s biggest low-cost carrier private.

The companies announced an agreement in principle on Sunday evening in a statement, and requested an extension to a deadline to complete the deal formally. The agreement came after weeks of negotiations and several rejected offers.

The agenda

9.30am BST: UK construction PMI

2.30pm and 3pm BST: US service PMI reports

3.30pm BST: Public Accounts Committee session – “Will £9bn lost to Covid fraud and error ever be recovered by the government?”

5.45pm: Catherine L Mann speaking on a panel at the Royal Economic Society 2026 conference ‘Trusted, accessible and connected? The future of UK economic data’, in Newcastle

Key events

27m ago

Introduction: Sky owner agrees to buy ITV's broadcasting business in £1.6bn deal

Sky, which is owned by the US media and telecoms giant Comcast, has been in talks since at least last November to buy ITV’s media and entertainment business.

The deal will include the ITVX platform as well as its free-to-air channels, but not ITV’s studio operation. All of ITV’s public service commitments will be maintained under the deal.

The takeover is expected to create the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster, as traditional media companies adapt to the rise of US streaming giants such as Netflix and YouTube.

Introduction: Sky owner agrees to buy ITV's broadcasting business in £1.6bn deal

Happy Monday and good morning to those of you who had a late night celebrating England’s win in Mexico.

And to kick off the week: ITV has agreed to sell its broadcasting and streaming business to Sky in a £1.6bn deal, in a move that is expected to create the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster.

The long-awaited deal will include a £1.2bn cash element, which will be payable after the deal completes, as well as the contribution of Sky’s Love Productions business (which makes The Great British Bake Off), for an agreed enterprise value of £200m. Sky will pay an additional £200m in cash, subject to meeting advertising targets in 2027.

ITV said the deal will return around £950m in cash to its shareholders, or 25p per share.

The companies have also agreed to spend at least £2.1bn on content supply from 2028 to 2032. The deal is expected to complete in the second half of next year.

ITV chair Andrew Cosslett said:

At a headline value of up to £1.6bn, the sale of ITV’s M&E division will deliver a significant cash return to shareholders. Crucially, the transaction also unlocks the value of ITV Studios which post completion will be a distinctive pure-play global content business, with a strong track record of success and excellent prospects, further underpinned by a long-term partnership with ITV M&E and Sky.”

Sky chief executive Dana Strong said:

This is a defining moment for British media and an opportunity to build a stronger future for two of the UK’s most loved and trusted brands. We have huge respect for the transformation the ITV team has delivered, particularly its successful move into streaming through ITVX, which has brought fantastic British content to millions of viewers across the UK.

Bringing Sky and ITV Media & Entertainment together combines the very best of free-to-air television, pay TV and streaming, ensuring viewers across the UK continue to enjoy outstanding British programming in a rapidly changing world.

ITV will remain a public service broadcaster at the heart of British life, and we’re excited about the future we can build together.”

Meanwhile last night, the airline easyJet has said it intends to accept a £5.5bn takeover offer by the US investment firm Castlelake that would take Britain’s biggest low-cost carrier private.

The companies announced an agreement in principle on Sunday evening in a statement, and requested an extension to a deadline to complete the deal formally. The agreement came after weeks of negotiations and several rejected offers.

The agenda

9.30am BST: UK construction PMI

2.30pm and 3pm BST: US service PMI reports

3.30pm BST: Public Accounts Committee session – “Will £9bn lost to Covid fraud and error ever be recovered by the government?”

5.45pm: Catherine L Mann speaking on a panel at the Royal Economic Society 2026 conference ‘Trusted, accessible and connected? The future of UK economic data’, in Newcastle