XPost: rec.arts.tv
From: YourName@YourISP.com
20 years ago here in New Zealand, Sky TV bought the free-to-air /
Freeview network that was then called "Prime TV". Sky TV later renamed
it to "Sky Open", which is still a free-to-air / Freeview channel and
plays many of the shows that Sky plays on their pay channels, albeit at
a later date.
ITV in talks to sell television business to Sky
-----------------------------------------------
ITV has said it is in "preliminary" discussions to sell its
broadcasting business to Sky for £1.6bn, a move that could
reshape the UK's television landscape.
The talks focus on ITV's Media and Entertainment division,
which includes its free-to-air TV channels as well as the
ITV X streaming service.
The discussions with Sky, which is owned by US-based Comcast,
come as the television industry faces fierce competition from
streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.
The deal would not include ITV's production arm - ITV Studios
- which makes popular programmes such as Love Island and
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.
However, one analyst said the broadcaster could lose those
shows if the deal goes through as the channel would have to
bid alongside rival companies for the contracts, despite ITV
being the biggest customer at present.
Tom Harrington, from Enders Analysis, said: "It would be
unlikely for current shows to leave ITV as there will already
be agreements in place."
But splitting the two businesses could make it less likely for
new shows to appear on ITV, he added.
Comcast, which owns Universal Studios, bought Rupert Murdoch's
Sky in 2018 and is a major player in the US media sector.
It owns NBCUniversal, which contains the NBC and CNBC channels,
DreamWorks Animation and streaming service Peacock.
Media analyst Ian Whittaker told the BBC's Today programme that
a combination of Sky and ITV would mean they had "70% plus" of
the UK TV advertising market, which he said "in normal
circumstances" would be rejected by regulators because of the
dominance it would give them.
But he added that with rising competition from the streaming
services raising questions over the future of TV, a takeover
could be seen as almost a rescue deal.
Mr Harrington said ITV Studios itself was a "very desirable
operation" that was "unencumbered by a legacy linear [TV]
business".
Sir Peter Bazalgette, television executive and producer, who was
chair of ITV until September 2022 and is a shareholder in the
company, told the Today programme that the deal made sense given
the pressure from streamers.
On the question of whether a Sky-ITV link up would run up against
competition issues, Sir Peter said the regulator needed to
"redefine" what the advertising market is.
He said Google owner, Alphabet and Facebook owner, Meta should be
treated as the rivals, not the traditional TV advertising market.
Talking about ITV's TV channels, he said: "Free to air channels
across world are not seen to have a great amount of value," adding
that "there's going to be an inevitable consolidation of domestic
broadcasters all across Europe".
Mr Whittaker said streaming was where the growth was for
broadcasters - even though with established streamers "the
penetration rates have started to level off in the past couple of
years" in the UK.
He added that competition was also now coming from YouTube TV,
which showed live events such as sports and news.
A recent report from media regulator Ofcom found that YouTube has
become the UK's second most-watched media service, behind only the
BBC.
Big live sporting events, traditionally shown on television, may
also increasingly move to streamers as sporting giants such as
UEFA seek to cash in on the huge streaming market.
ITV Studios, which makes programmes for several platforms including
the BBC, Netflix and Amazon, has reportedly been the subject of
takeover talks in the past.
It made the hit TV series Alan Bates vs The Post Office, and
popular anime series One Piece on Netflix.
ITV's share price was up 15% at about 78p following news of the
takeover talks, although that remains well below the high of 258p
reached in 2015.
Liberty, one of ITV's biggest shareholders, recently sold half of
its 10% stake in the broadcaster.
But Liberty might be "kicking itself" at this move, said Dan
Coatsworth, an analyst at AJ Bell.
He said it was "a surprise" there was an interest in ITV's TV
channels, describing it as a "ball and chain" compared with ITV
Studios, which he called "the jewel in ITV's crown".
Sky's interest was "Christmas come early for management and
shareholders", he added, saying ITV Studios could be "an instant
takeover target itself" as content-hungry streamers seek a hub to
generate more programmes to feed their platforms.
On Thursday, ITV forecast that its advertising revenue would be 9%
lower in the last three months of 2025, saying that advertisers
were being cautious ahead of expected tax rises in the Budget.
The broadcaster also said it would carry out a further £35m in cost
savings, which would lead to some programmes being delayed until
next year.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
|
