London, July 6, 2026
Pay-TV provider Sky, owned by US telecommunications group Comcast, is buying the free-to-air television channels and streaming service ITVX of British broadcaster ITV for £1.6 billion ($2.13 billion).
Context of the Deal
After months of negotiations, Sky reached an agreement with ITV on the purchase of the channels and the streaming platform, as both companies announced on Monday in London. Comcast, which owns Sky, sees this as a decisive step in the British television market. Sky CEO Dana Strong called it a "defining moment" in British broadcasting. The agreed price is £1.6 billion, equivalent to approximately $2.13 billion.
The transaction covers the ITVX streaming service and ITV's free-to-air channels, but not, for example, the production division. The television channels are to remain free-to-air, and ITVX will continue to be offered free of charge. ITV is Britain's largest commercial television broadcaster but, as a public service broadcaster, has a statutory remit. Among the broadcaster's best-known formats is the soap opera Coronation Street.
Market Shares and Competition
Sky has also committed to a five-year supply contract worth £2.1 billion. Under this contract, the pay-TV provider is to obtain content from the ITV programming lineup. Sky is a pay-TV company and was founded in 1989 by Rupert Murdoch. With the acquisition, Sky aims to create a British streaming offering as competition for Netflix and the like, and thus form a national champion against global platforms such as YouTube, Amazon, and Disney.