Nandy signals possible intervention in Sky’s £1.6bn bid for ITV entertainment division
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has indicated she may step in to review Sky’s proposed £1.6bn purchase of ITV’s media and entertainment business. She said there are reasonable grounds to believe the deal could affect free expression and the diversity of Britain’s news landscape.
Sky responded that it would carefully consider Nandy’s letter and engage constructively with the review. The company added that it remains confident the combination would create a stronger British media sector.
ITV welcomed the correspondence, saying the deal would help it compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries. The two firms announced in July that Sky had agreed to acquire ITV’s broadcasting business, which includes its free to air TV channels and the ITV X streaming service. ITV Studios, the production arm behind shows such as Love Island and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, is not part of the transaction.
The acquisition would give Sky access to millions more viewers, while both companies hope it will strengthen their ability to compete with streaming giants like Netflix.
Nandy told Sky and ITV she is considering issuing a public interest intervention notice to the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom, which would trigger an investigation. In her letter she said she is minded to order a probe to address public interest considerations including the need for free expression of opinion in news media, a range of views across the UK, a variety of owners controlling media, and a wide range of programmes available nationwide.
She noted that Sky News and ITV News together account for 26% of linear TV news viewing in the UK. Nandy warned that over time the merger could reduce the range of views available, with 86% of the linear TV news market potentially controlled by the BBC and the combined Sky/ITV entity. She added that the North of England and other UK nations, particularly audiences from lower socio‑economic backgrounds, could be disproportionately affected because they rely heavily on broadcast news.
Sky and ITV have until 20 October to respond to Nandy’s concerns. A Sky spokesperson said the company has already pledged to protect ITV’s identity, its free to air services and public service broadcasting obligations, and to keep ITV News and Sky News as distinct editorial voices.
An ITV spokesperson said they welcome the publication of the secretary of state’s “minded to” letter and look forward to fully cooperating in the process, adding that it is another important step toward creating a UK player with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries.
Nandy explained that her intervention would rely on a new public interest consideration that would require fresh legislation, as current laws do not cover the impact of a merger on streaming or on demand programming. She said if she decides to intervene on this basis she will bring forward legislation to extend the public interest consideration relating to the availability of a wide range of broadcasting to on demand services.