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Thu, 15 Oct 2026

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 Nandy 'minded to intervene' in Sky's £1.6bn takeover of ITV entertainment arm

The culture secretary says the deal could affect free expression in the media and the variety of Britain's news landscape.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has expressed concerns that Sky's proposed £1.6bn acquisition of ITV's media and entertainment division could harm free expression in the media and reduce diversity in Britain's news landscape. Nandy has stated that she is "minded to intervene" in the deal, which would give Sky control over two major TV news sources, ITV News and Sky News, making up 26% of linear TV news viewing in the UK. This could lead to a concentration of media ownership, with 86% of the linear TV news market controlled by the BBC and the combined entity. Nandy is concerned that this could affect viewers, particularly in regions outside of England and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds who rely on broadcast news for their information. The two companies have until October 20 to respond to Nandy's concerns, which would be made under a new public interest consideration that requires legislation to extend the application of the public interest consideration relating to the availability of a wide range of broadcasting to on-demand programmes.