Affiliate Leaders examines how the Sky-ITV mega merger could offer both opportunities and obstacles for advertisers.
Sky confirmed a deal to acquire ITV Media and Entertainment from ITV plc for up to £1.6bn.
The mega deal, which has been in discussions since November 2025, includes ITV’s UK free-to-air broadcasting channels including ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITVQuiz, UTV and its streaming platform ITVX. STV is excluded from the deal as it is part of a separate company.
ITV Studios is not part of this transaction and will continue to operate independently. But Sky will obtain an indirect 20% stake in ITN on completion of the deal.
Sky is set to pay £1.2bn in cash and will transfer ownership of Love Productions – which produces shows including The Great British Bake Off, Naked and The Baby Borrowers – to ITV.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, also includes £200m related to future advertising targets.
Following completion, ITV channels and ITVX will remain free-to-air, with its public service broadcasting commitments continuing to be met in full.
Sky, which is owned by Comcast, has agreed to enter into a £2.1bn content supply agreement with ITV Studios for the next five years.
The proposed acquisition will bring together two of the UK’s biggest broadcasters. ITV already reaches around 40 million people each week and serves more than 16.5 million monthly digital users.
Combined with Sky, the business would account for around 20% of all in-home viewing in the UK, second to the BBC and ahead of YouTube.
Dana Strong CBE, Sky Group, chief executive, said: “This is a defining moment for British media and an opportunity to build a stronger future for two of the UK’s most loved and trusted brands.
“[…] Bringing Sky and ITV Media and Entertainment together combines the very best of free-to-air television, pay TV and streaming, ensuring viewers across the UK continue to enjoy outstanding British programming in a rapidly changing world.”
Carolyn McCall DBE, chief executive officer, ITV plc, added: “ITV has successfully evolved in a rapidly changing media landscape – launching, and scaling, ITVX and developing ITV Studios into a major force in the global content market. This transaction builds on that momentum to deliver clear, tangible value for shareholders.
“At the same time, through the commitments made by Sky, the combined ITV M&E / Sky business will continue to deliver everything about ITV that our viewers and advertisers love and value and our people are hugely proud of – making programmes that reflect and shape society, bringing people together for shared experiences and having the quality, diversity and plurality that are the hallmarks of our contribution to the UK’s creative industries.
“In addition, all of ITV’s PSB commitments, including regional and national news, are safeguarded under the terms of the Channel 3 Licences until 2034, which Sky is acquiring as part of the Transaction.”
A new duopoly emerges
The Sky-ITV is a mega-merger. The combined entity could account for roughly 70% of the UK linear TV ad marketer, including contracts for third-party broadcasters, Reuters reported.
It would also mean that Channel 4 would be the only other major commercial competitor for media buyers, which has roughly a 20-22% market share. That puts a lot of pressure on the publicly-owned broadcaster.
Traditionally, brands have used ITV for mass cultural awareness with shows like Love Island and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. While Sky Media has been used for precise, data-driven addressable targeting through AdSmart.
For advertisers, the acquisition could mean a more streamlined opportunity to target mass audiences using Sky’s household data with ITVX’s millions of users.
For sportsbooks in particular, it means they no longer will need to have separate budgets for premium live sports on Sky Sports (such as the Premier League) and mass-appeal sporting events on ITV like the World Cup, Cheltenham Festival or the Six Nations.
They can target individual sports fans as they move between free-to-air weekend fixtures to mid-week pay-TV matches. It means a player could be targeted during a live match on ITV1 and be served with in-play betting odds based on the profile and region, rather than just a generic ad.
Regulatory scrutiny
While it could streamline the ability to offer hyper-targeted ads, the consolidation of two of the UK’s biggest commercial broadcasters could significantly impact pricing dynamics.
Historically, media buyers could pit Sky and ITV against each other to help keep prices low, but that leverage will disappear.
This, alongside the vast amount of data that Sky has, is likely to raise regulatory eyebrows from OfCom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The CMA has been building cases against big tech companies like Google and Meta around antitrust behaviour and market dominance. It is likely to assert the same scrutiny over Sky’s adtech platform.
Paul Bainsfair, director general at the IPA, said: “Broadcaster consolidation is increasingly inevitable in light of the growing dominance of the big tech platforms. That said, the advertising and media landscape is not a single market.
“Linear TV is a distinct market within the broader video ecosystem and remains uniquely powerful for building brands – its scale, creativity and emotional impact make it an incredibly effective medium for driving long-term growth. As such, the merged entities’ dominant share likely means advertiser protections need consideration.
“We shall of course be consulting our members and will reflect their views in our submission to the regulators ahead of their decisions.”
