Overview
- ITV said in a stock exchange statement that discussions are preliminary and non-binding, with no certainty a transaction will be agreed.
- The talks cover the Media & Entertainment division—including free‑to‑air channels and ITVX—with Sky, owned by Comcast, as the counterparty, while ITV Studios is excluded.
- The proposed enterprise value is about £1.6 billion, according to the company’s confirmation of the approach.
- ITV shares rose as much as roughly 18–19% after the news, a day after the broadcaster announced £35 million of temporary cost savings and forecast a 9% decline in fourth‑quarter ad revenue.
- Any deal would face detailed scrutiny from Ofcom and the CMA, with industry estimates putting a combined share of UK TV ad sales near 70% and reporting of potential remedies such as unwinding some third‑party ad sales arrangements.