Sky Buys ITV Network for $2.1B in NBCU Reshuffle
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- Sky agreed to acquire ITV's television network operations for £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion), confirmed to ITV shareholders Monday, after a nine-month courtship that began with an LSE notification in November.
- Sky will pay £1.2 billion upfront with another £200M contingent on ITV hitting £1.7 billion in ad revenue next year, plus a £950M cash return (25p per share) to ITV shareholders.
- ITV Studios stays out of the acquisition but benefits from a £200M side-deal in which Sky sells Love Productions (maker of The Great British Bake Off) to ITV Studios, and signs a £2.1 billion output deal through 2032 keeping Love Island, Coronation Street, and I'm a Celebrity free-to-air.
- Sky and ITV's combined TV and streaming viewing share was 18.3% in May, just behind YouTube's 18.6% per BARB — a positioning the companies will lean on to win regulatory clearance for a deal of this scale.
- Comcast spun off NBCUniversal as a standalone listed company last week; sources say the spin-off and ITV deal are coordinated to inject energy into Sky, which is 'perceived to be a little unloved in the Comcast empire.'
- ITV Studios, led by Julian Bellamy, will remain listed separately and faces a new competitive threat from the Banijay-All3Media merger, with Fremantle (RTL-owned) cited as one potential future partner.
Why it matters: ITV's 71-year-old public service broadcaster becomes part of NBCUniversal's standalone listed entity, ending its independent status. ITV Studios — the £2.1 billion revenue production arm — must now find a merger partner as Banijay-All3Media forms a bigger rival. The 2032 output deal keeps flagship shows free-to-air.
