The UK news media has been rattled by confirmation that commercial broadcaster ITV has entered talks to sell its core business to Comcast-owned Sky for £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion). But while British tabloids catastrophize over the end of broadcast sovereignty, what is the view from the US press?
Firstly, if this deal between ITV and Sky is waved through by competition regulators, it will deeply disrupt the UK broadcast space. The merger would create the largest commercial broadcaster in the UK, and would mark the biggest consolidation of British broadcast assets in two decades.
Due to this being a UK-centric deal within comparatively tiny borders, there are few deep dives into the proposed deal from US news outlets and industry analysts.
Those that have covered the news emphasize the deal being driven by declining advertising/linear TV business in the UK. The US angle primarily focuses on Comcast’s strategic expansion efforts, which is framed as something of an inevitability, and much of the US commentary scarcely seems concerned that regulators might block the deal.
On the contrary, UK news outlets stress the competition angle and implications for the UK’s public service broadcasting legacy. One thorny point of contention is that ITV has PSB obligations under current laws to offer certain channels free to air.
That would not change under Sky ownership (at least not immediately), but a takeover could see Sky lobby for more relaxed regulations and future consolidation in the future (think the US Broadcast Ownership Rules)—by gradually winding down FTA obligations in the years up to the UK’s proposed DTT shut-off date in 2035.
Even then, it is likely by law that ITV (or whatever it is called come 2035) would still have to offer free-to-view services on streaming services. Currently, the broadcaster’s ITVX platform has a free ad-supported tier, while ITVX Premium costs £5.99 ($4.60) a month for a “mostly” ad-free experience, excluding live events.
The UK government is big on driving growth, and advocates of the proposed offer from Sky will be hellbent on dressing this up as one of the few ways to strengthen the UK broadcast market against the incursion of US media.
TV advertising revenues are clearly under pressure, with ITV reporting total ad revenues down 5% to £1.25 billion ($1.65 billion) for the first 9 months of 2025. Total revenue was reported up 2% to £2.8 billion ($3.7 billion), thanks to an 11% revenue boost for the ITV Studios production arm, which accounted for 48.3% of total income for the 9-month period.
It is not inconceivable that ITV Studios will be the largest revenue earner for the group come 2026.
Crucially, a match-up between ITV and Sky is far from any sort of natural homegrown matrimony. US influence weighs heavily on this deal, and will continue to do so if the merger is approved, despite what concessions UK competition regulators might attempt to apply.
If Sky were to acquire ITV’s PSB assets, regulators (Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority – CMA) would scrutinize two areas: preserving PSB obligations, and limiting excessive foreign influence on UK media.
As well as ring-fencing existing PSB channels, UK regulators would likely mandate content quotas for homegrown UK-originated programming – covering localized regional content, news, and children’s TV. Strict investment commitments would also need to be adhered to by Sky/Comcast in the wake of an ITV takeover.
What is fundamental to any deal being greenlighted is that, in 5-10 years from now, ITV’s FTA channels remain available on all UK platforms without preferential treatment on Sky’s platforms.
Merging broadcast and streaming assets will take years, and the market should be ready for red flags that could gradually jeopardize ITV’s FTA obligations over time. These could be things like subtle changes in apps or EPG experiences, nudging consumers towards paid subscription services, or even making FTA access slightly harder to locate within a UI (a couple of extra clicks can go a long way).
On the content side, TV shows and live events could be gradually migrated from FTA access to subscription access. If done over many years, this could go mostly unnoticed, and would leave the FTA platform to wither on the vine—slowly reducing viewer numbers and cannibalizing ad revenues.
Speaking of foreign influence, something missed by most outlets is the timing. We do not see this as coincidental. With Sky’s long-term licensing contracts for flagship HBO titles coming to an end, opening the door for the 2026 launch of WBD’s HBO Max in the UK market, US-owned Sky needs a better way to compete with US rivals.
Sky’s argument is that acquiring ITV will be a replacement for those lost US content assets, and it might even argue if this deal is not approved, it will go searching overseas for alternative contingency plans.
Another rational concern is the potential for a bloodbath of lay-offs. Sky has slashed approximately 3,000 jobs since 2023, while ITV has cut an estimated 400 roles since 2024.