Overview
- ITV said in a stock exchange note that it is in preliminary discussions to sell its Media & Entertainment business to Sky for an enterprise value of £1.6 billion, with no certainty a transaction will occur.
- The potential sale would cover the main ITV network, its suite of linear channels and the ITVX streaming service.
- ITV Studios is not part of the talks, and separate takeover interest in the production arm has been explored by parties including RedBird IMI’s All3Media parent and Banijay, according to reporting.
- The confirmation follows ITV’s move to temporarily cut £35 million from budgets and guidance that fourth-quarter advertising revenue will fall by about 9%.
- Sky is owned by Comcast, which had been reported as exploring a purchase of ITV’s broadcasting assets, though ITV’s statement identifies Sky as the prospective buyer.