Sky is drawing up plans to broadcast its original series, including The Day of the Jackal and Saturday Night Live UK, on ITV following its £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) acquisition of ITV's network and streaming arm, Deadline reports. Although the Comcast-owned deal still faces lengthy regulatory scrutiny before completing next year, Sky has already held internal talks about how to exploit its new free-to-air asset to reach far larger audiences and convert viewers into subscribers.

The strategy might involve airing the first season of a Sky show on ITV before its sequel premieres on Sky, premiering opening episodes on the network, or running repeats of topical shows such as SNL UK. The move addresses Sky's struggle to cut through: it has had no title in Britain's weekly top 50 in the first half of 2026, while Netflix managed six UK originals and Amazon two. Content chief Cécile Frot-Coutaz, who will command a budget north of £1 billion a year, will oversee spending, though some producers question her creative credentials and warn that Sky's slow, layered decision-making would cause "gridlock" if imposed on ITV, where Kevin Lygo currently leads commissioning.