Sky’s takeover of ITV may be blocked after the culture secretary said she was ‘minded to intervene’ in the deal.
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she → block → deal
In a statement to Parliament, Lisa Nandy said she was looking at the proposed tie-up on public interest grounds.
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she → say → grounds
She said she had potential concerns about the impact on the breadth of news providers, and how much control Sky would have in the media landscape.
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Sky → say → landscape
Nandy has the authority to intervene under the Enterprise Act, which states the need for free expression of opinion in news media and for there to be 'sufficient plurality'.
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which → have → media
She told MPs: ‘Having considered the anticipated merger, I am of the view that there are reasonable grounds to believe that it might affect availability of a wide range of high-quality and varied programming on the on-demand platforms that are now widely used by UK audiences.’
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that → tell → audiences
ITV agreed the sale of its media and entertainment arm to Sky for £1.6billion in July after months of talks over a possible deal.
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ITV → agree → deal
The deal, which has been in the works since the end of 2025, will see Sky buy ITV’s terrestrial TV channels and streaming service ITVX.
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Sky → see → channels
The culture secretary said she was 'minded to intervene' in Sky's proposed takeover of ITV
At the time, the two businesses said the deal would create a major competitor to global streaming giants like Disney Plus and Netflix.
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deal → say → Plus
ITV is required by law to provide a free-to-air service until at least 2034 under the public service broadcasting licence.
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ITV → require → licence
At some stage, Sky could decommission certain ITV shows or renegotiate their contracts.
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Sky → decommission → contracts
Sky is likely to want to make some cost savings.
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Sky → want → savings
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG said: 'It's no surprise, given the concerns around control of media and the risk of Comcast being lent on by the US administration.
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Comcast → say → administration
Burnham has not been as keen to portray himself as a Trump ally, and this is a handy way of putting some blue water between the UK and the USA.
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this → portray → UK
It doesn't kill the deal stone dead, but it does mean Sky will have to work harder to convince the government that this won't give the US too much of an interest in UK broadcasting.
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this → kill → broadcasting
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Nandy said she was also considering intervention on the basis of a new public interest consideration to maintain a wide range of broadcasting to on-demand programmes.
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she → say → programmes
This would need new legislation to be brought forward, given that existing laws do not cover the impact of the merger on streaming or on-demand.
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laws → need → demand
Nandy said: ‘If I decide to intervene on the basis of this new public interest consideration, I will bring forward legislation which amends section 58 of the Act to extend the application of the public interest consideration relating to the availability of a wide range of broadcasting to on-demand programmes.’
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which → say → programmes
Sky said it was confident the deal would create a stronger media business and support British programming and trusted news.
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deal → say → programming
'We have already made clear commitments to protect ITV's identity, its free-to-air services and public service broadcasting obligations, and to ensure ITV News and Sky News remain distinct editorial voices,' a spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → make → air
ITV, which will become a standalone TV production business following the sale, said the intervention was not unexpected and would fully cooperate in the process.
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intervention → become → process
'This is another important milestone in the regulatory review process towards creating a UK player with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries,' a spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → create → viewers
Nandy said she had not taken a final decision on intervention, and ITV and Sky had until 20 October to respond.
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ITV → say → October
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This → take → commission
These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting.
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they → choose → team
This does not affect our editorial independence.
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This → affect → independence
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