{"id":3104,"date":"2026-07-06T12:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T12:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3104"},"modified":"2026-07-06T12:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T12:37:10","slug":"itv-braces-for-thorough-and-comprehensive-antitrust-review-of-sky-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3104","title":{"rendered":"ITV Braces for \u201cThorough and Comprehensive\u201d Antitrust Review of Sky Takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>ITV doesn\u2019t expect it will be easy to convince regulators to approve the biggest merger in the history of U.K. broadcasting. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3102\">Versant Inks $530 Million Deal for Sports Tech Company Full Swing<\/a><\/p>\n<p>ITV CEO Carolyn McCall, speaking to the media on a conference call following the news that Comcast-owned Sky plans to acquire ITV\u2019s networks and streaming business for $2.13 billion (\u00a31.6 billion), admitted antitrust scrutiny will be rigorous.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe expect a very through and comprehensive review [of the deal]. Which we expect will go to phase 2,\u201d said McCall, noting that U.K. regulatory approval could take \u201c12 to 18 months.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A Sky-ITV deal, which brings together Britain\u2019s leading free-to-air broadcaster with the country\u2019s top pay-TV operator, was never going to get a quick rubber stamp. A stealth attempt by Sky\u2019s predecessor BSkyB \u2014 then controlled by Rupert Murdoch\u2019s News Corp. \u2014 to acquire ITV back in 2006 triggered a regulatory backlash, with antitrust watchdogs arguing the merger threatened media plurality. A year later, ITV, the BBC and Channel 4 proposed Project Kangaroo, a link-up which would have seen them launch a joint streaming venture, years before Netflix launched in the U.K.. Regulators also shot it down, arguing the deal would give the partners too much control over British TV content and stifle competition. <\/p>\n<p>This time, ITV hopes, things will be different. <\/p>\n<p>The company is betting regulators will buy its argument that \u201cthe market has changed fundamentally,\u201d due to the rise of streaming and online platforms. ITV and Sky are no longer just in competition with each other, and Paramount Global-controlled Channel 5, for TV advertising dollars, but in a battle with global streaming giants and technology platforms. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe [U.K.] ad market is not three broadcasters competing\u2026but just an enormous number [of media companies] competing for video advertising. It\u2019s Meta, Disney, Apple, Amazon, it\u2019s everyone,\u201d said McCall. She noted that Sky and ITV combined would have \u201cabout 20 percent\u201d of the overall market for video advertising in the U.K., less than YouTube alone. <\/p>\n<p>ITV is trying to strengthen its case with U.K. regulators by doubling down on its commitments as a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB), noting that, post-merger, the network will continue to provide its top programs \u2014\u00a0from soaps like <em>Coronation Street<\/em> and <em>Emmerdale<\/em> to reality TV hit <em>Love Island <\/em>\u2014\u00a0free of charge to U.K. viewers while meeting other PSB requirements, including sourcing a minimum of 25 percent of its programing from independent producers, with 35 percent coming from outside London. Fully 85 percent of primetime programming, shows that air between 6 and 10:30 pm, must be originals, ensuring, said McCall, that \u201cU.K. production at scale\u201d will continue. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3100\">George Clooney to be Honored With Venice Golden Lion<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A bigger potential issue could be U.S.ownership. While McCall argued that Sky is \u201cperceived as British,\u201d parent Comcast is very much American. Following Paramount Global\u2019s 2014 acquisition of Channel 5, the Sky deal would put the bulk of Britain\u2019s commercial TV market, Channel 4 and UKTV excluded, in U.S. hands. <\/p>\n<p>McCall, however, insisted that the Sky merger was \u201ca deal about Britain, about investing in British content.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under the terms of the deal, ITV Studios will sign a long-term content supply agreement with ITV and Sky covering many of its landmark British shows, including <em>Coronation Street<\/em>,<em> Love Island<\/em> and <em>I\u2019m a Celebrity\u2026Get Me Out of Here!<\/em>, with a guaranteed minimum spend of $2.81 billion (\u00a32.1 billion) between 2028 and 2032.<\/p>\n<p>ITV also downplayed the prospect of major job losses post merger, saying redundancies would be primarily concentrated around \u201cduplicated\u201d operations at the two companies. McCall said she sees Sky and ITV as broadly complementary, and played up synergies as a major source of growth. <\/p>\n<p>The broadcaster, however, will not reinvest the bulk of the proceeds from the sale. McCall said ITV planned to pay out \u00a3950 million ($1.27 billion) to ITV shareholders. She argued that ITV has a \u201cstrong balance sheet\u201d and was not dependent on a new \u201cwar chest \u201d to spur growth. <\/p>\n<p>ITV Studios, the production arm behind <em>Love Island<\/em>, Netflix hit <em>Fool Me Once<\/em>, and <em>Britain\u2019s Got Talent<\/em> among many franchises, is not part of the Sky deal and will be spun off as a standalone listed company. Many view ITV Studios as the next takeover target. \u201cIt\u2019s consolidation everywhere,\u201d admitted McCall, but called a sale of ITV Studios as \u201cunlikely\u201d saying the company had the size and financial might to remain a \u201clarge, independent studio.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3098\">How the Sky-ITV Deal Will Transform British Broadcasting<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comcast-owned Sky is set to buy ITV for $2.1 B, arguing the mega-merger is needed to compete with the likes of Netflix and YouTube.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[990,2,1053,1054],"class_list":["post-3104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-comcast","tag-international","tag-itv","tag-sky"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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