Sky — a British pay-TV company owned by US telecom giant Comcast — has agreed to buy ITV's broadcast channels and streaming service for £1.6bn. The deal, announced on 6 July 2026, ends months of talks and marks a major shift in how British television is owned and controlled.

First, what's actually changing. Sky is paying £1.2bn upfront to take control of ITV's free-to-air TV channels (the ones you can watch without paying) and ITVX, the streaming platform. There's also a further payment of up to £200m that depends on how well these services do with advertisers next year — a way for both sides to share the risk if things don't go as planned.

One curious detail: Comcast is selling a production company called Love Productions — the company behind The Great British Bake Off — back to ITV for £200m. Comcast had bought it years ago, but it made more sense for it to go back to ITV.

Here's the big picture change: ITV Studios, the part of ITV that makes TV shows like Love Island, is staying with ITV. So ITV is transforming from "we own channels and make shows" into "we just make shows." Sky, meanwhile, gains ITV's audience and streaming platform but doesn't have to buy the expensive studio operations. Both companies get what they actually want.

Sky says it will spend at least £2.1bn improving these services over the next four years. That suggests they're planning to invest in the channels and ITVX rather than just milk them for profit.

What matters here: this deal consolidates two of Britain's biggest traditional broadcasters under one company. The BBC remains independent, but Sky now controls a much larger chunk of British television. Whether ITV's streaming service can actually compete with Netflix and Disney+ is a separate question — that'll depend on what Sky does with it next.

Before the deal can complete, regulators need to approve it. The UK's media watchdog (Ofcom) and competition authority will examine whether letting one company own this much broadcasting power is fair. That approval process is still ahead.