ITV Confirms Active Sky Talks on 1.6bn Pound ME Sale

ITV confirmed on Thursday that it remains in active discussions with Sky over a potential sale of its media and entertainment division, valued at around 1.6 billion pounds.

The broadcaster, known for programs such as "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" and "Coronation Street," first disclosed the talks six months ago. The proposed deal, led by Comcast-owned Sky, would exclude ITV Studios, the production arm responsible for hits like "Love Island" and Netflix's "Skyscraper Live." It could include a performance-based payout of up to 200 million pounds. ITV stated, "Following our announcement in November, we remain in active discussions with Sky regarding a possible sale of the ME business. We will update the market in due course."

The confirmation came alongside ITV's first-quarter trading update for the three months ended March 31. Total external revenue grew 1 percent to 877 million pounds. Advertising revenues fell 2 percent year on year, with the media and entertainment division reporting a 2 percent decline to 477 million pounds despite 12 percent growth in digital revenues and a 14 percent rise in digital advertising. Streaming platform ITVX saw streaming hours increase...