ITV. The press release before the obituary.
Sky and ITV are in talks to merge for 1.6 billion pounds. Mergers like this are how industries say they've lost.
THE GIST ON ITV: "End Credits"
What is being proposed?
Sky and ITV are in talks to merge for 1.6 billion pounds. ITV is the biggest free-to-air broadcaster in the country after the BBC. Two of British TV's biggest names would become one company.
Why now?
The reason is sitting in your computer and your living room: Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube. The streamers have taken British viewers and fragmented them five ways.
Linear viewing is down 30% in a decade, and ad revenue is down with it. ITV's revenue grew 1% last quarter. Sky has been losing UK subscribers for years. Neither can win against the streamers alone.
What is odd about the price?
200 million of the 1.6 billion is what's called an earn-out: ITV only pays the full price if the deal performs. Earn-outs happen when neither side can agree what something is worth. It's a gentlemanly way of hedging your bets.
What does it tell us?
It's basically watching an industry die in real time. Slowly, then all at once. Two former rivals are pooling their problems to become one company, and the combined version is a bigger target. The merger is the press release that comes before the obituary.
Would a Sky and ITV merger be good for viewers?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How much is the Sky and ITV deal?
1.6 billion pounds, of which 200 million is an earn-out.
What is an earn-out?
Part of the price paid only if the deal performs, used when neither side can agree what something is worth.
Why are they merging?
Streamers have fragmented British viewers, linear viewing is down 30% in a decade and ad revenue is falling with it.
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