Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has opened a public interest probe of the Sky ITV takeover, issuing a Public Interest Intervention Notice on Comcast-owned Sky’s planned purchase of ITV’s media and entertainment arm. Variety reported the price at $2.1 billion; Yahoo Finance UK put it at £1.6 billion. Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority must report by Jan. 27, 2027, after which Nandy decides whether a deeper CMA investigation follows.
Key Takeaways
- Lisa Nandy issued a public interest intervention notice on Sky’s ITV deal.
- Ofcom and the CMA must report back by Jan. 27, 2027.
- Sky and ITV hold around 70% of UK television advertising.
- Nandy will extend public-interest rules to on-demand programmes.
What the Public Interest Probe Covers
On 15 October 2026 her department told Sky UK Limited and ITV plc she was minded to intervene under the Enterprise Act 2002 in the merger of Sky UK Ltd and ITV Media & Entertainment Holdings Ltd. Variety reported that, after their representations, she issued the notice.
TheWrap reported she believes the issues “warrant further investigation.” Ofcom takes the public-interest brief; the CMA takes jurisdiction and competition. She named four tests:
- Free expression of opinion in news media
- Sufficient plurality of views in each UK news market
- Sufficient plurality of persons controlling media enterprises
- A wide range of high-quality broadcasting and on-demand programmes
She is not issuing a foreign state intervention notice on current evidence. TheWrap said new information pointing to a foreign-state newspaper merger would oblige her to refer the deal under section 70A.
Yahoo Finance UK reported a separate warning in her letter to Sky. Comcast and NBCUniversal face “ongoing political and regulatory scrutiny” in the US, including an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission, a regulator led by Brendan Carr, an ally of Donald Trump.
“There is a question over whether, in the absence of undertakings, consequences of such scrutiny in the US could affect Sky or ITV’s ability to report freely,” she wrote.
Sky ITV Takeover Terms and the Savings Case
Sky agreed in July to buy ITV’s channels and ITVX, leaving ITV Studios listed separately in London, Yahoo Finance UK reported. TheWrap said the deal also includes Love Productions, maker of The Great British Bake Off, and $2.8 billion of content spend with ITV Studios over five years. Sky News and ITV News are meant to stay editorially distinct.
Sky told Variety the combination would create “a stronger British media business, better equipped to compete with global streamers,” and that commitments already made would protect ITV’s identity, public service broadcasting obligations and “the distinct editorial voices of Sky News and ITV News.”
About $267 million in annual cost savings is expected on a run-rate basis by the end of the third year after the deal’s closing, mostly from marketing, technology platforms and non-U.K. content, TheWrap reported.
Where the 70% Advertising Share Sits
Variety put the combined television advertising share at around 70%. Nandy declined a PIIN this year on Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery purchase, despite pleas from Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong and Alan Cumming. Variety said the U.S. entities had a much smaller combined UK television market share than Sky and ITV.
Former ITV chair Sir Peter Bazalgette still expects approval. “The reality of how the market operates is nothing to do with that,” he told Variety, pointing to YouTube, Meta and TikTok. Include those platforms and the joint share falls to around 20% to 30%.
TheWrap said ITV reaches around 40 million people a week and over 16.5 million monthly digital users. With Sky, that is around 20% of in-home viewing, second to the BBC and ahead of YouTube. Yahoo Finance UK said the pair plus the BBC would hold 86% of linear news and current affairs viewing.
| Measure | Figure | Outlet |
|---|---|---|
| Combined UK TV advertising share | Around 70% | Variety |
| Share with YouTube, Meta and TikTok | Around 20% to 30% | Variety |
| Combined in-home viewing | Around 20% | TheWrap |
| Linear news and current affairs with the BBC | 86% | Yahoo Finance UK |
Regional News, 2034 and On-Demand Rules
Yahoo Finance UK reported that Nandy warned the combined company and the BBC could lead to an “insufficient plurality of views,” particularly if Sky and ITV merge news operations. She also warned of commercial incentives to cut costs by merging or closing regional newsrooms or sharing content between them.
ITV’s public-service license is up for renewal at the end of 2034, Variety reported. At September’s Royal Television Society conference, Sky content chief Cecile Frot-Coutaz cited a “very public commitment to maintain Sky News and to maintain ITN news,” and refused to comment on whether it extends past 2034.
Separately, she plans legislation amending section 58 so the public-interest consideration relating to a wide range of broadcasting also covers on-demand programmes, “in line with modern viewing habits and my specific concerns regarding this merger,” TheWrap reported.
ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall has said she expected an in-depth review lasting up to 18 months. Sky said it will engage constructively and still believes the transaction is in the public interest.
