Sky plans to test its dramas and sport on ITV after £1.6bn deal
Sky wants to show its own big series on ITV in the years ahead, as its £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) takeover of ITV's network operations goes through.
Cécile Frot-Coutaz, Sky's content chief and chief executive of Sky Studios, set out the idea at the Royal Television Society London Convention. She said Sky wants to experiment with windowing, meaning showing a series on a second outlet after its first run, on ITV. Deadline
One example she gave was The Day of the Jackal. Sky would look at showing old seasons on ITV ahead of a new season launching on Sky. The assassin story starring Eddie Redmayne was reported by Deadline in July to have become Sky's highest-rated original drama. Deadline
It would not be the first test of its kind. Frot-Coutaz pointed to Brassic, where Sky put the first four seasons on Netflix as a windowing experiment.
Sport could follow the same path. Frot-Coutaz said Sky will look closely at putting sport on ITV, opening the possibility of free-to-air exposure for Premier League football. Free-to-air means viewers do not need a pay subscription to watch. She said Sky holds 40,000 hours of sports content.
The price is £1.6 billion. ITV announced on 6 July 2026 that it would sell its Media and Entertainment business to Sky for total consideration of up to £1.6 billion, according to its half-year report. ITV Reuters had earlier reported the terms included about £200 million dependent on the performance of the ITV unit, and that Sky is owned by Comcast. Reuters
ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said ITV had little choice but to sell because competition is ferocious. Under the structure, ITV Studios will remain independent and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Sky has also agreed a £2.1 billion output deal, meaning a long-term agreement to supply programmes, guaranteeing shows including Love Island and Coronation Street will remain on ITV until 2032.
Deadline reported in July that Sky's early plans included giving its original series airtime on ITV and making ITV the home of Saturday Night Live UK. The BBC had reported on 6 July that Coronation Street, Emmerdale, I'm a Celebrity and Love Island will remain free to watch until at least 2034. BBC
For fans, this means the change may first appear as familiar Sky titles popping up in the ITV schedule. Nothing moves until the deal completes, but the direction is clear: use ITV's wider reach to trail the next paid-for season.
