Will I need Sky to watch Coronation Street, I'm a Celebrity and other ITV shows after the UK TV buyout?
Sky has agreed to buy ITV for £1.6 billion, but what does that mean for ITV's free channels?
Yesterday, we revealed that Sky is to buy ITV for £1.6 billion ($2.13 billion) and create the largest commercial television broadcaster the UK has ever known. It has plans beyond British TV too, revealing that the combined company will also launch a competitor to the major streaming services, like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+.
However, UK TV viewers are perhaps a bit more concerned about how their day-to-day TV shows and services will be impacted. And whether the Sky deal will mean they'll have to buy a Sky Glass or Sky Stream and subscribe just to watch their favourite programmes.
That's where we can help. We've heard a few questions bandied around from worried ITV viewers and have done our best to answer them below.
So, if you're wondering what will become of the likes of Coronation Street, I'm a Celebrity and Love Island read on...
Will ITV shows remain free-to-watch on Freeview?
If and when Sky's takeover of ITV is ratified by UK regulators, the company has guaranteed that ITV's free-to-air public service broadcast channels will remain. And that will include the channels' biggest shows.
ITV Studios will not be part of the buyout and will be spun-off as a separate company. However, Sky has reached an agreement to continue to broadcast its shows for the next five years, with plans to renegotiate after that time.
As Sky CEO Dana Strong said after revealing the ambitious acquisition: "As long as consumers love Coronation Street, we will absolutely be delivering Coronation Street."
The same is true for other big ITV brands, such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Britain's Got Talent.
Will Sky News move to ITV?
According to Sky, there are currently no plans to merge Sky News and ITV News. They will retain their own "independent voices".
That will likely mean that, for the time being at least, ITN will continue to produce ITV News, while Sky's in-house production teams will continue with its own service.
It helps somewhat that ITV never launched a 24-hour news channel to compete with BBC News and Sky News (which is also available on Freeview). That might have muddied the water a little.
Will ITVX and Now continue as separate streaming services?
While there is a commitment to maintain the current ITV channel lineup and shows, its less clear what Sky's plans will mean for ITVX and Now.
As revealed with the buyout announcement, the combine Sky and ITV plans a new super streaming service to take on the US giants, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV. And the wording used is that it will be an "integrated" service that will reach 16 million UK viewers.
"Integrated" suggests that Sky will combine its Now streaming platform with ITVX, maybe for a hybrid free/paid alternative. Or they could be replaced entirely.
Truth is, we don't know for sure right now.
Will ITV get live Premier League matches?
One additional, exciting announcement is that, once the takeover is complete, Sky said it will "supercharge" ITV's sports offering.
Whether it will move some live Premier League, Championship or other Football League matches to the free-to-air channels is yet to be revealed. However, it cannot currently show Premier League highlights on ITV channels.
The BBC currently holds the rights to show Premier League highlights until the end of the 2028/29 season.
What is more likely is that Sky's expertise in live sports broadcasts will be employed by ITV too, using the same teams and setup. Sky will also have even stronger bidding power when it comes to new rights negotiations.
When will Sky and ITV merge?
Although the Sky ITV deal has been officially agreed and announced there are several hurdles yet to be navigated – not least governmental approval.
It still needs shareholder and regulatory approval, which might take several months.
