ITV has entered into discussions over the sale of its media and entertainment broadcasting arm to Comcast, the owner of Sky.
News of the potential acquisition for £1.6bn saw ITV’s shares jump by as much as 20% on Friday morning. The sale would include the broadcaster’s terrestrial TV channels and streaming service ITVX, but not the ITV Studios production arm.
In a statement first released to the London Stock Exchange, ITV said that it was in “preliminary discussions regarding a possible sale of its M&E business to Sky for an enterprise value of £1.6bn.”
It added: “There can be no certainty as to the terms upon which any potential sale may be agreed or whether any transaction will take place. A further announcement will be made in due course if appropriate.”
Reports of a potential takeover of ITV have surfaced throughout the year, including discussions with RedBird IMI in January and potential interest from Banijay back in April.
On 5 Nov, ITV released its Q3 trading update, citing that performance for the first three quarters of 2025 was “better than market expectations” and that ITV Studios was on track to deliver revenue growth of 13-15% for the year. While digital advertising was up 15% for the YTD (predominantly driven by ITVX), the company warned of a decrease in total advertising revenue (TAR), which was down 5% for the YTD. As such, ITV had identified £35m of “additional temporary savings in M&E for Q4”.
Carolyn McCall, ITV Chief Executive, said: “UK macro data is showing a softening economy, with increased uncertainty in the lead up to the UK Budget which is impacting the wider advertising market, and we are adjusting our costs to match this current reduction in demand. We do not anticipate these temporary savings to impact our ability to deliver our strategic plan.”
Last month, John Malone’s US media and telecoms group Liberty Global sold around half of its 10% stake in ITV for a reported £135m. Liberty said that it was “actively managing our Liberty Growth portfolio, disposing of certain assets while prioritising our scale-based investments. As part of that process, we are divesting part of our stake in ITV.”
.jpg)
IBC2026: Writers announced for IBC Daily!
The IBC Daily – the official show newspaper of IBC2026 – will be returning in both print and digital formats this year, with a team of experienced industry journalists covering the show by hall number.
Submit your entry today! Deadline extended for IBC Innovation Awards 2026
IBC has extended the deadline for submitting entries for the IBC2026 Innovation Awards by one week until Friday, 5 June, due to popular demand.
MPA applauds UK High Court’s “omnibus” order to block digital piracy
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has welcomed a UK High Court order that streamlines the process for blocking access to proven piracy services when they switch names or website domains to evade court orders.
Italy dismantles major streaming piracy network
Italy's financial police have dismantled a streaming piracy network that caused an estimated €300m in damages to rights holders such as Sky, DAZN, Netflix, Spotify, and Disney+.
Apple TV uses iPhone 17 Pro to capture full Major League Soccer match
Apple TV has aired a live Major League Soccer (MLS) match captured exclusively on iPhone 17 Pro, marking the first time an iPhone has been used to capture the entirety of a major professional live sporting event broadcast.
