John Malone’s US media and telecoms group Liberty Global has sold about half of its 10% stake in UK broadcaster ITV for a reported £135m.
Over the past year, ITV has been at the centre of takeover speculation, with Liberty Global often cited as a potential buyer.
Liberty Global’s decision to sell part of its stake in ITV caused the broadcaster’s share price to fall sharply, down around 10%.
ITV’s share price has been under pressure for several years, as a result of increased competition from global streamers such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, as well as a weak advertising market.
The broadcaster’s share price has fallen more than 70% since Liberty Global increased its stake in the media company in 2015.
The Colorado-based telecommunications firm first took an ITV stake in 2014 from pay-TV broadcaster Sky for £481m and increased it the following year – to 9.9% from 6.4%.
Liberty said in a statement: “As stated in our Q1 2025 earnings, we’re 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.”
Banijay reportedly entered early-stage talks to buy ITV in April 2025. Discover more here.
.jpg)
EU Sovereign AI: Collaboration crucial to AI and cloud success
Collaboration and innovation are crucial ingredients for establishing a sovereign cloud and AI ecosystem within Europe to reduce dependency on US hyperscalers, concluded an SMPTE panel at IBC2026.
Canal+ and LaLiga strike anti-piracy agreement
France’s pay-TV group Canal+ and Spanish football league LaLiga have signed a strategic anti-piracy agreement covering nearly 50 countries across Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Haiti.
.jpg)
DAZN appoints three to leadership team
Sports streamer DAZN has made three key hires to its executive leadership team, saying they would help drive the next phase of the group’s growth.
BBC puts Silent Witness out to tender
The BBC has put its long-running drama Silent Witness out to tender to independent production companies, making it one of the biggest-budget shows that the BBC has put out for tender.
Prime Video expands Show the Show feature
Amazon Prime Video has rolled out its Shop the Show feature to more than 8,000 titles.
.jpg)
.jpg)
