Sky is set to buy ITV, so here’s what it means for Love Island, football and other shows

If you woke up this morning, post-England match and eagerly awaiting the second half of Love Island movie night, you may have been slightly unnerved to hear Sky is set to buy ITV.

ITV has agreed to sell its media and entertainment arm, including its broadcast channels and ITVX streaming service, to Sky for £1.6bn. It’s one of the biggest takeovers in British media history, and it’s going to reshape what you watch and how you watch it.

But do we need to be worried about the future of our favourite shows on ITV? The answer is probably no, or at least definitely not yet.

So, which parts of ITV have been sold to Sky?

via ITV

Sky, which is owned by American company Comcast, is buying ITV’s channels and ITVX. What it’s not buying is ITV Studios, the production arm that actually makes shows like Love Island, I’m a Celebrity, and Coronation Street. That becomes its own standalone company, still owned by ITV’s current shareholders.

As part of the deal, Sky is also handing over Love Productions, the company behind Great British Bake Off, to ITV for £200m. So ITV loses its channels, but gains Bake Off. Make of that what you will.

Will my favourite ITV shows disappear or go behind a paywall?

No – at least not for now. ITV is legally required to keep a free-to-air service until 2034 under its public service broadcasting licence, so Coronation Street, Love Island, Emmerdale, and I’m a Celebrity aren’t going anywhere.

Sky CEO Dana Strong was pretty upfront about this, explaining: “As long as consumers love Coronation Street, we will absolutely be delivering Coronation Street.”

Longer term, we can’t say whether they’ll shift towards a subscription model once the licence expires in 2034.

What about football and other sport on ITV?

via ITV

Most Read

Dished: Here’s everyone who is smoking and vaping in the Love Island 2026 villa

Um, this guy is going viral for marrying Bonnie Blue and fathering her child and it’s all a bit odd

‘Pure evil’: 16 Ohio children rescued after being held in tiny 12-foot room for four years

This is where it gets interesting – and a bit more ropey. Sky already has most Premier League games and Formula 1 until 2034. ITV, as a public service broadcaster, can bid for “listed” events (like the World Cup, the Six Nations, and the Olympics) that must be shown free-to-air.

Put those two together, and you’ve got a serious sports powerhouse. It could also mean Sky using ITV as a shop window – imagine a Premier League match shown free on ITV to lure you into subscribing to Sky Sports. Whether that’s exciting or irritating depends on your current streaming situation.

Former ITV Chairman Peter Bazalgette told the BBC: “Sport is a massive driver of live viewing and advertising revenue. Putting together the sports powerhouse of Sky’s football Premier League deals with the sport that is on ITV – the World Cup, the Rugby Six Nations – is probably one of the most attractive things for Comcast.”

What will happen to ITV News?

ITV’s news is made by ITN, which has held the contract since ITV launched in 1955 and recently renewed it until 2030 or 2031. For now, ITV News and Sky News are staying as separate editorial operations.

But once that ITN contract expires, we don’t know for certain whether these two distinct newsrooms will keep running.

Should I be worried about Sky buying ITV?

via ITV

For now, not really. Your shows are safe, your ITVX access isn’t going anywhere, and the deal still needs regulatory approval before anything changes anyway.

Potential bigger shifts, including paywalled content, merged streaming platforms, restructured news, have not been announced as of yet.

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image via ITV