Sky owner announces £1.6bn takeover of ITV's broadcasting arm

Sky, which is owned by the US telecoms company Comcast, has announced a long-awaited £1.6 billion deal to buy ITV's broadcasting and streaming arm, creating the UK's largest commercial broadcaster.

Under the terms, Sky will pay an initial £1.2 billion in cash for ITV's media and entertainment business, which includes its free-to-air TV channels in the UK and the ITVX streaming platform. An additional payment of up to £200 million is agreed for the second half of 2028, contingent on 2027 advertising revenues.

As part of the transaction, Comcast will sell its Love Productions business—the producer of "The Great British Bake Off"—to ITV for £200 million. The two parties had been in negotiations for months to finalise the complex deal.

The deal does not include ITV Studios, one of the world's largest production companies, which produces shows like "Love Island", "I'm a Celebrity", and the hit drama "Mr Bates vs the Post Office".

Sky has committed to spending at least £2.1 billion between 2028 and 2032 on the business as part of a long-term strategic partnership.

Andrew Cosslett, ITV's chair, said: "For over seven decades, ITV has played an important and cherished role in the public life of the nation. At a time of rapid change in the industry, it is right that we now secure ITV's crucial role as a public service broadcaster and this transaction achieves this with ITV's media and entertainment division combining with Sky to create a UK champion with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms."