ITV remains in talks over Sky TV deal as profits slip

ITV has said it is continuing talks with Sky over a possible £1.6 billion deal for the Comcast-owned rival to buy its broadcasting business.

The UK TV giant first confirmed talks in November but said on Thursday there was still “no certainty” over a deal.

It came as ITV reported a dip in profits for the past year, but said that its performance was stronger than expected.

The group behind the Masked Singer and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! said adjusted pre-tax profits dipped by 5% to £448 million for the year to December 31, compared with a year earlier.

Bosses hailed this as a good performance in the face of a “challenging market backdrop”.

Late last year, ITV had cautioned that uncertainty linked to the November budget had weighed on advertising revenues.

In its fresh update, ITV told shareholders that revenues were broadly flat at £4.1 billion for the year, with a 5% dip in its broadcast arm offset by a 5% rise in its ITV Studios production business.

Chief executive Carolyn McCall told reporters the business had been boosted by strong growth from its ITVX streaming business, which it said had outperformed some rivals.

“Our viewers clearly value what we have been doing digitally – ITVX is growing a lot,” she said.

“We are way ahead of where our plan was on digital advertising.

“Some of the streaming services are plateauing but the streaming services run by broadcasters are growing well.”

The company was also continuing with efforts to reduce costs in order to support its finances.

It said it expected £20 million more in non-content cost savings this year as a result.

Ms McCall said: “Our results demonstrate the scale of our transformation as we continue to successfully execute our More Than TV strategy.

“As part of the strategy, in 2022 we set intentionally ambitious targets and have been adapting as necessary in a rapidly evolving media and entertainment market.

“These targets are helping us transform ITV – creating a much more entrepreneurial, ambitious culture.”