ITV has confirmed it remains in “active” talks with Sky over a potential £1.6 billion sale of its broadcasting business to the Comcast-owned rival.
The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here broadcaster is said to be close to finalising a deal to sell its media and entertainment (M&E) division to Sky in a move that would create a broadcaster and streamer to rival the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ in the UK.
But talks were first revealed six months ago and one expert said discussions were “dragging on”.
ITV said on Thursday: “Following our announcement in November 2025, we remain in active discussions with Sky regarding a possible sale of the M&E business.
“We will update the market in due course.”
The pair are reportedly looking to structure the deal to include a payout of up to around £200 million that will be based on future performance.
It comes as ITV reported a 2% fall in total advertising revenues year-on-year in the three months to March 31.
Its media and entertainment division saw revenues fall 2% to £477 million despite 12% growth in digital revenues, but its ITV Studios production arm notched up 4% growth to £400 million.
The group said it expects total advertising revenues for ITV to rise by around 10% in the second quarter, leading to growth of about 4% in the first half as a whole, while it is hoping for July’s performance to be boosted by the World Cup football tournament.
Dame Carolyn McCall, ITV chief executive, said: “Our strategic priorities of expanding ITV Studios and supercharging our digital media and entertainment business continue to deliver clear and positive results.”
She added: “We expect total advertising revenues to be up around 10% in the second quarter and a strong July, driven by significant demand from advertisers around the men’s football World Cup.
“While we are monitoring the ongoing difficult geopolitical environment, we are focused on what we can control and remain on track to deliver our full-year guidance of good revenue growth in ITV Studios and strong profitable digital revenue growth in M&E.”
Shares in ITV lifted 3% in morning trading on Thursday.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said talks with Sky were “dragging on”, adding it may be due to a “disagreement about price”.
He added: “If Sky can’t get a deal over the line, other potential suitors might include European broadcasters such as TF1 looking to expand their reach.
“Alternatively, private equity might want the whole of ITV and then look to break it up.
“The jewel in the crown is the Studios arm which could be worth a lot more as a standalone entity than part of a media conglomerate.”
The potential deal with Sky would not include ITV Studios, which makes shows including I’m A Celebrity and the popular drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office,which has also been the subject of previous sale speculation.
A deal between Sky and ITV would be transformative for the UK television sector.
It would see Comcast, which bought Rupert Murdoch’s Sky for £30 billion in 2018, expand its footprint in the UK and Europe and leave FTSE 250-listed ITV focused on its studio operations.
