Sky has confirmed it is buying ITV, the United Kingdom's biggest commercial broadcaster, in a deal worth 2.1 billion pounds, or roughly 2.8 billion dollars. The announcement came almost a year after secret talks between the two companies began.
According to a report by Engadget, Sky is the satellite company currently owned by Comcast. The acquisition covers ITV's media and entertainment business, which includes its free-to-air broadcast channels and its on-demand platform ITVX. ITVX shares content with Disney+.
If the deal clears regulators, the combined company would become the UK's second biggest broadcaster, ranking behind the BBC and ahead of YouTube. Sky acknowledged directly why the deal makes sense, stating that "scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube."
That argument will need to be persuasive. Regulators in the UK have already been concerned about media consolidation following the Paramount and Warner Bros. deal. A Sky-ITV combination would be a significant further concentration of the UK broadcasting market, and the companies will need to make the case that competition and plurality are not being damaged.
Not all of ITV moves to Sky. The broadcaster is keeping its Studios business, which produces programs including The Voice and Love Island. As part of the transaction, Sky is handing over control of Love Productions, the production company behind the Great British Baking Show and other competition formats including the Great British Sewing Bee.
The deal reshapes a UK broadcasting landscape that has been under pressure from global streaming services for years. ITV has been working to build its digital presence through ITVX, and a merger with Sky would give it access to Sky's distribution reach and subscriber base.
