Sky’s ITV takeover could be tonic for Premier League media rights value
Sky’s proposed takeover of ITV is widely expected to mean more sport on free-to-air channels in the UK, but wider consolidation in the media market could also have a significant impact on the value of sports broadcast rights.
A combined Sky and ITV would, if approved by regulators, create an even more powerful player in the battle for the most sought-after rights, such as Premier League and Champions League football. The same is true for Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, which would also include Sky Sports’s main UK pay TV rival, TNT Sports.
These bigger players could compete with Netflix, Apple and YouTube and force up the price of premium rights, analysts believe – a boost to the Premier League, whose domestic media rights value has plateaued after decades of growth and is expected to go to market with its latest tender in the next year.
“The sports implications are significant, as Sky gains a free-to-air megaphone and ITV gains access to deeper resources, a larger technology platform and a clearer route to monetising paid sports,” said Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight. “The result could be a stronger UK-based competitor to global streamers.
“ITV gives Sky a powerful free-to-air shop window, while Sky Sports, NOW and the wider Sky ecosystem provide the premium paid layer. That is attractive to sports looking to grow audiences, attract sponsors and convert casual viewers into paying fans.
“Sky/ITV has to be seen as part of a wider race for scale across media, sport and streaming. If Paramount/WBD also comes together, the UK market would be shaped by fewer, larger players with deeper rights portfolios, stronger streaming platforms and greater advertising power. That could intensify the battle for premium sports rights, pushing up the value of the biggest properties.”
Deloitte’s Tim Lunn believes the proposed consolidation could make the coming months a fascinating period for the UK broadcast market.
“We know that the Premier League rights tender may happen in the next year, so it’ll be a really interesting 12 months to see what the impact of that M&A activity is, and how that flows downstream,” he said. “It is a bit of a wait and see, but there’s, I guess, the signs that you could see it being more competitive.”
More sport coming to ITV but there is a catch
While more big media players may be good news for the value of premium sports rights, it might reduce competition for more niche properties, says Pescatore.
“If Sky and ITV are no longer separate bidders, some auctions could lose competitive tension,” he said. “Premium rights will still attract major interest, but smaller sports may find themselves negotiating with fewer serious buyers.”
Lunn, a director in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, added: “From our work in this market in the last few years, outside of those premium properties, the ones that really have the highest viewership, I think it’s not been as competitive, it’s been quite a calm market in terms of increasing broadcast rights values. So these are things coming up that could impact that.”
Despite many premium rights being paywalled, the government’s listed events regime and the sheer volume of live sport means there is already no shortage of action on free-to-air channels. The consensus is, however, that Sky’s acquisition of ITV will mean even more; indeed, Sky CEO Dana Strong said as much when discussing the deal earlier this week.
“We think there’s an opportunity there to really drive more fandom and more engagement with, frankly, one of the critical assets the UK has, which is an unbelievable sporting community,” said Strong, whose buying power earned her a place in the inaugural City PM Football Power List. “We’re all pretty passionate about our sport. We’d love to tap into that by putting more sport on ITV.”
Speaking in a personal capacity, Lunn said he hoped that “as a fan, you would think Sky will have the flexibility and the opportunity to get key matches – Premier League, EFL, and others – potentially on free to air.”
TMT analyst Pescatore says more sport on ITV does not mean “a return to the old free-to-air model” and that regulators “will need to look carefully at whether consumers get more meaningful access or simply more promotional windows”.
“More likely, ITV becomes the showcase window: selected live games, major moments, highlights, shoulder programming and big promotional events. Sky Sports remains the home of depth, exclusivity and premium value,” he said.
“That means viewers may see more sport on free-to-air, but the key question is whether this represents meaningful access or carefully chosen windows designed to drive audiences into Sky’s broader paid ecosystem. Regulators will need to look beyond volume and focus on quality, prominence and consumer access.”