Sky to Acquire ITV Media & Entertainment for Up to £1.6 Billion: Becoming a "Bigger Beast in the Jungle"

Sky and ITV combined hold 18.3% of UK viewing — still less than YouTube alone at 18.6% — while in Korea, JTBC's default and the decline of terrestrial broadcasters unfold with the exits locked shut by law

The two pillars of British commercial television are becoming one.

Sky, owned by Comcast, agreed on July 6, 2026 to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment (ITV M&E) — ITV's broadcasting and streaming division — for up to £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion). It is the union of the UK's biggest free-to-air commercial network and its biggest pay-TV operator. ITV's terrestrial channels, streaming platform ITVX and advertising sales operation move to Sky in their entirety.