Sky-ITV deal cements US control over UK broadcasting
Sky’s acquisition of ITV ends 70 years of independence for the British broadcaster, leaving Europe’s commercial media landscape increasingly dominated by US streaming giants.
ITV has agreed to sell its television and streaming operations to Sky, ending its seven-decade run as an independent company. Chief executive Carolyn McCall framed the cut-price deal as a necessity for survival against deep-pocketed US rivals like Netflix and YouTube. The move places two of the UK’s four nationwide public service broadcasters under American ownership, following Paramount’s control of Channel 5.
The consolidation is a direct response to a collapse in traditional viewing figures. According to ratings body Barb, YouTube alone now commands a larger share of UK television and streaming viewing than Sky and ITV combined. Together, the newly merged entity will control roughly 74% of the traditional TV advertising market, though they will argue to regulators that their share of the broader video advertising market is just over 30%.
Sky’s chief executive, Dana Strong, has already outlined £200m in annual cost savings to be achieved by the third year after the deal closes. A minority of these cuts will come from eliminating duplicated corporate and commercial roles. The broader sector is bleeding jobs, with the BBC shedding up to 2,000 staff under its new leader, former Google executive Matt Brittin.
The merger leaves state-owned but commercially funded Channel 4 highly exposed. With advertising accounting for 90% of its £1.03bn revenues last year, the broadcaster is now a distant second in the ad market. “In the world of the ITV-Sky merger, Channel 4 looks very subscale,” Brittin told MPs, adding that all current mergers are driven by the need for scale. The BBC and Channel 4 are now exploring a combined streaming service to build a sovereign platform capable of competing with American tech firms.
ITV’s production arm, ITV Studios, will remain a standalone publicly traded company, and Sky has committed to spending at least £2.1bn on its content between 2028 and 2032. However, rapid consolidation in the production sector makes ITV Studios a likely future takeover target. Paris-headquartered Banijay recently completed a £3.8bn merger with All3Media to create the world’s largest independent production company.
This separation creates long-term risks for British cultural mainstays like Coronation Street and Love Island. While Sky has promised to keep shows on free-to-air TV for now, a future sale of ITV Studios to a rival platform could strip them away. “It is the end of an era really,” said media strategist Nick Manning. “It won’t be long before the Americanisation of UK media is complete.”
