Free-to-air ITV shows protected until 2034

Sky, the pay-TV, broadband, and mobile company owned by the American company Comcast, has been in talks to buy ITV’s media and entertainment business — including the streaming platform ITVX — since last year, according to a BBC report.

ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK, launching in 1955 as competition for the BBC. The network holds a public service broadcasting license that requires it to provide a free-to-air service until at least 2034, a condition that will prevent Sky from immediately moving its flagship shows behind a paywall.

“Gradually, though, content which might debut on free/live-to-air ITV might end up on a subscription platform,” Caroline Frost, TV and podcast editor at Radio Times, told the BBC.

In the short to medium term, major shows including Coronation Street, Love Island, Emmerdale, and I’m a Celebrity will remain on ITV and ITVX, and will continue to be produced by ITV Studios as part of a supply deal expected to be part of the acquisition agreement.

ITV Studios — which owns more than 60 production companies in the UK and internationally — is not included in the sale. It will become a separate publicly traded company, ITV Studios PLC, still owned by current ITV shareholders. The production arm makes programs for multiple broadcasters, including Line of Duty for the BBC, Rivals for Disney Plus, and Love Island USA, described as America’s most streamed show.

Longer term, Frost said users of both ITVX and Sky’s streaming service NOW can expect to see “more integrated services, for example, bundling titles in terms of genre instead of channel, as a natural way to cut production costs, and to cross-advertise.”

Producer Patrick Spence, who won a BAFTA for Mr Bates vs The Post Office, told the BBC the deal is “exciting” and a “sign that the regularly predicted end of so-called linear TV is overplayed.” He added: “What I take away from this deal as a producer and an audience member is that Sky must really like and believe in ITV to be only buying the network.”

The acquisition gives Sky access to ITV’s free-to-air platform, which can bid for “listed” sporting events that UK law requires to be broadcast live on free-to-air channels, including the Olympic Games, the Grand National, and the British Grand Prix. Sky is best known for its sports coverage, including the majority of televised Premier League games and Formula 1 rights in the UK until 2034.

Former ITV Chairman Peter Bazalgette told the BBC that putting together “Sky’s football Premier League deals with the sport that is on ITV — the World Cup, the Rugby Six Nations — is probably one of the most attractive things for Comcast.”

The BBC reported that for audiences, the deal could result in Sky using ITV’s free-to-air platform as a “shop window” for programming typically behind its paywall — potentially including a Premier League match or the first series of a Sky drama such as The Day of the Jackal ahead of its subscription premiere.

ITV’s public service broadcasting license, which runs until 2034, requires the broadcaster to air a defined amount of national and regional news and ensures that 85% of the content shown during peak schedule is original programming. The license also requires a proportion of programs to be made outside London.

There is some disquiet at ITN, the news provider that has produced ITV’s bulletins since 1955 and holds a contract renewed through 2031. Sky News operates a 24-hour rolling service and does not produce regional news. After the ITN contract expires, the BBC reported, it is possible ITV’s News at Ten could be produced by Sky News, or that ITN could provide Sky’s rolling news channel.

Camilla Lewis, founder of Curve Media, told the BBC that streamers are “realising the importance and power of parochial programme making,” and that “a Sky-ITV company would be foolish to pivot away from commissioning programmes with a national identity. It wouldn’t make business sense.”