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Culture secretary intervenes in Sky's £1.6bn ITV takeover

Summarised from 5 outlets · 9 reports · Updated 4 Nov, 17:58 · Archive

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has formally intervened in Sky's proposed £1.6 billion takeover of ITV's media and entertainment arm on public interest grounds.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has formally intervened in Sky's £1.6 billion proposed takeover of ITV's media and entertainment arm. She issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice citing concerns that the deal could affect free expression in the media and the variety of Britain's news landscape.

ITV agreed to sell its media and entertainment division to Sky in July after months of talks. The deal would see Sky acquire ITV's terrestrial TV channels and streaming service ITVX. ITV Studios, the production business behind shows including Love Island, is excluded from the sale.

Nandy announced the intervention to Parliament, stating: 'My decision to issue a PIIN relates to concerns I have that public interest considerations specified in section 58 of the Enterprise Act 2002 may be relevant to the anticipated merger and that these considerations warrant further investigation.' She said she would now require the Competition and Markets Authority and regulator Ofcom to investigate the deal and report their findings by 27 January on competition and media plurality issues respectively.

Following those reports, Nandy will decide whether to refer the matter to the CMA for a more detailed investigation. Nandy had previously indicated last month that she was 'minded to intervene' on public interest grounds, citing concerns over the breadth of news providers and the level of control Sky would hold in the media.

Nandy also confirmed plans to bring forward new streaming legislation to extend existing media merger considerations to on-demand platforms. She said the current legislation specifies a public interest consideration on the need for 'a wide range of broadcasting which is both of high quality and calculated to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests', and that this should be modified to apply to on-demand programmes in line with modern viewing habits.

Sky and ITV have said the merger would create a stronger British broadcasting business capable of competing with global streaming giants including Netflix and Disney+. They expect around £200 million in annual cost savings, largely through combining marketing and technology operations. Sky has pledged to protect ITV's free-to-air services and public-service broadcasting obligations, and to keep ITV News and Sky News editorially separate.

Culture secretary intervenes in Sky's £1.6bn ITV takeover
Image: Independent Business

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In this story: Lisa Nandy · Sky · ITV · Competition and Markets Authority · Ofcom · United Kingdom

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