Comcast-owned Sky has agreed a £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) deal to acquire ITV's broadcasting and streaming operations, combining Britain's largest pay-TV operator with its biggest commercial free-to-air broadcaster. Announced on 6 July 2026, the deal matters because it is the most significant example yet of a wave of consolidation among European broadcasters, who are being squeezed by Netflix and Amazon for audiences and by YouTube, Facebook and TikTok for advertising. Executives framed it as creating a "UK champion" with the scale to compete against global streaming platforms.

The agreement excludes ITV Studios — the production arm behind Coronation Street and Love Island — which will be spun off as a standalone, London-listed content business, though Sky has committed to at least £2.1 billion in programming spend with it between 2028 and 2032. The move reflects a wider shift in which regulators, once resistant to such mergers, now appear to view global streamers as the main competitive threat rather than TV consolidation. Similar deals have unfolded across Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal, while France has pursued an alternative strategy of partnering with platforms, as seen in TF1's tie-up with Netflix and France Télévisions' deal with Amazon. The BBC, meanwhile, is reportedly in talks with Channel 4 to combine their streaming services into a British "sovereign platform".