Nandy 'Minded to Intervene' in Sky's £1.6bn ITV Deal — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Lisa Nandy told Sky and ITV she is 'minded to intervene' in the £1.6bn deal, citing reasonable grounds to believe the tie-up could affect free expression, the range of news views across the UK, and the variety of people and programmes in British media.
- Sky pledged to 'carefully consider' the letter and 'engage constructively' with the review, reaffirming its commitment to keep ITV News and Sky News as 'distinct editorial voices' and protect ITV's free-to-air services and public service obligations.
- ITV welcomed the letter, arguing the merger is needed to help the broadcaster 'compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries'; the deal excludes its production arm ITV Studios (Love Island, I'm a Celebrity).
- Any intervention would test a new public interest consideration requiring fresh legislation, since current UK law does not cover the effect of mergers on streaming and on-demand programmes — Nandy said she would bring forward a bill if she proceeds.
- Sky News and ITV News together hold a 26% share of linear TV news viewing; combined with the BBC, Sky/ITV would control 86% of the linear TV news market, with the North of England, non-English UK nations and lower socio-economic groups flagged as most reliant on broadcast news.
- Sky and ITV have until 20 October to respond before Nandy decides whether to issue a public interest intervention notice to the CMA and Ofcom.
Why it matters: A Sky-ITV merger would hand the BBC/Sky/ITV bloc 86% of UK linear TV news viewing, concentrating editorial control at a time when regulators are meant to be widening plurality. Nandy's potential intervention would also force new legislation extending public interest rules to streaming for the first time, creating a framework that outlasts this transaction.
Ask SkimNews
