Sky-ITV deal: Culture secretary 'minded to intervene'

The culture secretary has warned she is "minded" to intervene in Sky's £1.6bn deal to buy ITV's broadcast and streaming operations.

Lisa Nandy said she had a number of potential public interest concerns and had written to both companies before taking a final decision on whether to call in regulatory scrutiny.

Sky and ITV have been given until Tuesday 20 October to respond.

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ITV agreed the deal with Sky, the owner of Sky News, for its media and entertainment arm in July following months of talks.

The agreement, subject to both shareholder and regulatory approval, would create the UK's largest commercial broadcaster via the acquisition of the ITVX platform and ITV's free-to-air channels but not ITV's studio operations.

Both companies said that under the terms, ITV channels with shows like Coronation Street, Emmerdale, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Love Island would remain free-to-air.

They added that all ITV public service broadcasting commitments would also be maintained with ITV News - produced by Independent Television News (ITN) - and Sky News set to remain distinct editorial voices.

Ms Nandy's concerns included the need for free expression of opinion in news media, the need for a sufficient plurality of views in news media in each market for news media and the need for a "sufficient plurality of persons" with control of the media enterprises.

She also identified a need - currently not specified under the Enterprise Act which governs oversight of such deals - for the "availability throughout the United Kingdom of a wide range of broadcasting, on-demand programmes or both, which (when either is, or as the case may be, both are, taken as a whole), is of high quality and calculated to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests."

Ms Nandy added: "If I decide to issue an Intervention Notice, the next stage would be for Ofcom to assess and report to me on the public interest considerations, and for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess and report to me on whether a relevant merger situation has been created, and any impact this may have on competition.

"Following these reports, I would need to decide whether to refer the matter for a more detailed investigation by the CMA under section 45 of the act.

"I will update parliament on my final decision at the earliest opportunity."

A spokesperson for Sky said: "We will carefully consider the Secretary of State's letter and look forward to engaging constructively as the review progresses.

"We remain confident that bringing Sky and ITV's Media & Entertainment business together will create a stronger British media business, better able to compete with global streaming platforms, support great British programming and trusted news, and deliver more for audiences.

"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."

An ITV spokesperson said it welcomed the culture secretary's letter and "look forward to fully cooperating in the 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 benefitting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries," the spokesperson added.

(c) Sky News 2026: Sky-ITV deal: Culture secretary 'minded to intervene'