Sky makes £2bn spending pledge as it prepares takeover of ITV broadcasting arm | Mergers and acquisitions

Sky has committed to spending £2bn on ITV’s studio business over the next five years and is preparing to take over its broadcast arm; It’s a move that will protect the future of popular shows such as Coronation Street and Love Island.

Sky, owned by US telecommunications company Comcast, has been in talks for months to buy ITV’s media and entertainment operations, which include free-to-air TV channels in the UK and the ITVX broadcast platform. The £1.6bn takeover deal could be announced in early July. The Sunday Times reported.

The negotiations involve the complex task of separating ITV channels and streaming platform ITVX from ITV Studios, which is not part of the acquisition and will remain an independent company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

ITV Studios is one of the world’s largest production companies. Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and hit drama Mr Bates Vs the Post Office and accounted for more than half of ITV’s £4.1bn annual revenue in 2025.

ITV was founded in 1955 to challenge the BBC’s monopoly on UK television, and its studios arm consists of dozens of individual production companies. Its customers include rival broadcasters and streaming companies, including pay-TV company Sky.

the sky one Long-term commercial partnership with ITVIt is already buying shows from ITV Studios and is thought to have agreed to commit to spending £2bn over five years from the deal, continuing the current deal. According to a source, this is not new money.

This will help put the business on a solid footing and secure the future of a long list of programmes, including soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, as well as soaps such as Love Island and I’m a Celebrity.

ITV Studios as part of the deal Expected to acquire Love ProductionsProducer of Sky’s The Great British Bake Off.

Analysts predict Sky’s bid to take over ITV’s streaming and streaming division will lead to heavy job losses at ITV as it eliminates duplication.

Sky’s aim is to create a streaming champion for the UK by acquiring ITVX, the country’s largest free, ad-supported streaming service, competing with subscription-based services Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. ITVX’s monthly active users reached 16.5 million last year, up from 14.7 million in 2024.

The takeover deal is expected to undergo review by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and telecommunications regulator Ofcom.

Ofcom is expected to examine concerns about Sky News’ owner taking ITV’s 40% stake in ITN, the production company behind ITV News, Channel 4 News and 5 News.

Any deal combining the TV ad sales operations of ITV and Sky, giving Comcast potential control of more than 70% of the UK market, could lead to CMA intervention.

Industry sources said Sky may be forced to look at remedies including abandoning third-party sales deals, including representing advertising sales for Channel 5 and Disney in the UK. This could lead the CMA to rethink how it measures the advertising market to include digital advertising.

Sky and ITV declined to comment.