Sky strengthens UK streaming offer with ITV deal

Sky television on Monday said it had agreed to buy ITV's media and entertainment business for up to £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion), creating a heavyweight in UK streaming.

ITV, which provides free-to-air and paid services, first disclosed last November the interest shown by Sky, owned by US cable giant Comcast, for its Media and Entertainment (M&E) business.

"The proposed transaction brings together two of the UK's most trusted, recognisable and complementary media organisations to create a stronger media business," Sky said in a statement Monday.

It added that "as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK".

Sky said the new business would account for about 20 percent of "in-home viewing in the UK, second to the BBC and ahead of YouTube, and create a commercial streaming champion for the UK".

The combined business will deliver more sport free-to-air, while ITV News and Sky News "will remain distinct editorial voices", the statement said. 

ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said Monday that she felt "confident that Sky will be a strong and responsible custodian of ITV M&E, building on its heritage while investing in its future". 

The deal which excludes ITV Studios, the group's production arm, comes after Comcast last week said it would spin off its Sky media and NBCUniversal divisions into a separate company.

Studios, broadcasters and cable operators are facing unprecedented competition from streaming companies in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. 

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