Comcast's Sky TV to acquire ITV's media and entertainment unit for up to $2.14 billion
Independent Television (ITV), the UK's largest commercial television broadcast and streaming media giant, announced on the 6th that it has reached a final agreement with Sky, a subsidiary of Comcast in the United States. Sky Broadcasting Company will acquire ITV’s media and entertainment business (including free broadcast channels and ITVX streaming platform) for up to 1.6 billion pounds (approximately 2.14 billion US dollars). This move means that the two most well-known media brands in the UK will achieve deep integration, marking that the UK’s traditional television broadcast industry is accelerating into a stage of large-scale defense and structural restructuring in the face of the impact of global streaming media giants. Sky chief executive Dana Strong said the move was a "defining moment" for the UK media industry, building a more resilient future for two of the UK's most trusted local media brands. It is worth noting that this divestiture also contributed to the strategic transformation of ITV’s core business. After the transaction is completed, ITV Studios, which was not included in the acquisition scope, will operate independently as a pure content production giant and continue to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. As a supporting strategic cooperation agreement, the split independent TV studio has signed a long-term content supply contract with Sky Broadcasting Company and the newly merged media and entertainment unit, promising that the latter will purchase TV programs worth at least 2.1 billion pounds from 2028 to 2032 to ensure the continued development of local flagship IP such as "Love Island" and the rights and interests of the British independent production group. This merger is also in line with the global divestiture logic of American companies. Parent company Comcast announced in late June this year that it planned to split its original media and network connection businesses, aiming to package and spin off core media assets such as NBCUniversal and Sky Broadcasting in the UK to establish an independent listed media company with a purer business.