Sky makes £2bn spending pledge as it prepares takeover of ITV broadcasting arm

Deal could be announced in July and vow will safeguard future of shows such as Coronation Street and Love Island Sky has committed to spending £2bn on ITV’s studios business over the next five years as it hammers out a takeover of its broadcasting arm, a move that will safeguard the future of popular programmes such as Coronation Street and Love Island. Sky, owned by the US telecoms company Comcast, has been in talks for months to buy ITV’s media and entertainment operations, which include its free-to-air TV channels in the UK and the ITVX streaming platform. The £1.6bn takeover deal could be announced in early July, the Sunday Times reported. The negotiations involve the complex task of separating ITV’s channels and its streaming platform, ITVX, from ITV Studios, which is not part of the acquisition and would remain as a standalone company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. ITV Studios is one of the world’s biggest production companies. It has made shows including Love Island, I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! and the hit drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, and accounted for more than half of ITV’s £4.1bn annual revenues in 2025. ITV was created in 1955 to c