ITV maintains that the Sky sale remains in progress despite a decline in advertising income

ITV Pursues £1.6 Billion Sale of TV Division to Sky Amid Advertising Challenges

ITV is moving quickly to negotiate the sale of its television operations to Sky for £1.6 billion, following a recent decline in advertising income.

Chief Executive Dame Carolyn McCall confirmed that discussions between ITV and Sky are ongoing, emphasizing that the recent drop in ad revenue will not influence the agreed price.

The broadcaster, known for popular shows like Love Island, reported a 5% decrease in revenue from its television segment in 2025. However, this loss was balanced by gains in its production business, keeping total revenue steady at £4.1 billion.

Last year, ITV revealed it was in talks with Comcast, Sky’s American parent company, regarding a potential £1.6 billion acquisition of its TV division. Despite ongoing negotiations, no final agreement has been reached, and ITV leadership cautioned that a deal is not guaranteed.

ITV, which attributed the advertising downturn at the end of last year to budget uncertainties, stated that its performance remained resilient in a difficult market environment.

Dame Carolyn noted that it is premature to determine how the conflict in the Middle East might affect advertising budgets, but she highlighted strong advertiser interest ahead of this summer’s Fifa World Cup.

Despite these challenges, a source at Channel 4, which is also bracing for reduced ad revenues, warned that broadcasters are facing increasing instability.

“The advertising sector was unpredictable in the final quarter and remains difficult in the first quarter, with global issues such as the Middle East crisis causing brands to opt for short-term advertising commitments over long-term investments.

While our streaming minutes are growing faster than the overall market, it’s clear that the current climate is tough.”

Competing with Streaming Giants

The proposed acquisition by Sky is viewed as a strategic move to strengthen ITV’s position against major streaming competitors like Netflix and Disney, both of which are drawing audiences and revenue away from traditional broadcasters.

ITV reported significant progress for its streaming platform, ITVX, with a 16% increase in viewership and a 12% rise in digital ad revenue.

However, any deal could be complicated by ITV’s obligations as a public service broadcaster, including requirements to deliver news and regional content across its network.

Speculation is also mounting about the future of ITV’s thriving production arm, responsible for shows like I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Disney’s Rivals. ITV Studios saw its revenue climb 5% to £2.1 billion last year.

This week, two major rivals in the production sector—France’s Banijay and All3Media, the company behind The Traitors—announced an $8 billion (£6.3 billion) merger to form the world’s largest independent TV producer. Both had previously considered acquiring ITV Studios.

ITV’s Strategy and Future Outlook

Dame Carolyn downplayed concerns that the merger would leave ITV’s production business unable to compete, stating, “We are very confident in our global scale. We won’t pursue a transformative deal unless it delivers the right value for ITV Studios.”

To strengthen its financial position, ITV has been cutting programming expenses and plans to save an additional £20 million in non-content costs this year, bringing total savings since 2019 to over £250 million.

The company anticipates that advertising revenue will fall by another 2% in the first quarter as brands delay spending ahead of the World Cup.