ITV to slash costs by £30m ahead of Sky takeover deal probe

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

ITV is planning an additional £30 million in cost reductions before the end of the year as its takeover by Sky is set to be investigated by Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the regulator Ofcom.

The maker of hit shows including I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! now projects a full-year decline in total ad revenues of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent.

The figures come as culture secretary Lisa Nandy decided to intervene in Sky’s planned £1.6 billion deal to take over ITV’s media and entertainment arm on public interest concerns over the tie-up.

She will ask the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and regulator Ofcom to probe the takeover and report back to her on competition and media public interest considerations respectively by 27 January.

ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall stated that the group was taking "decisive action" to offset the weaker market by removing £30 million in costs from its media and entertainment division.

Around £25 million of this total will stem from content savings, such as by delaying the airing of certain programmes into next year, alongside £5 million from "discretionary non-content savings" as part of a wider effort to tighten spending across the business.

The company confirmed that jobs were not set to be impacted by the cost-cutting measures.

The agreement, which has come following months of detailed discussions, will see ITV’s terrestrial television channels and its streaming service, ITVX, merge with Sky , creating a formidable new entity designed to challenge global streaming giants.

This transformative sale, which has been under negotiation since late last year, is expected to profoundly impact British broadcasting.

Crucially, the deal does not include ITV Studios, the broadcaster ’s production arm responsible for hit shows such as I’m A Celebrity and the critically acclaimed drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office .

ITV Studios will become a “pure-play global content business” with its shares listed on the London Stock Exchange following the sale, and a long-term agreement to supply content to the newly-combined Sky and ITV, according to the broadcaster.