Theguardian iconTheguardianJul 11, 2026

‘End of an era’: what is the future of British TV after Sky’s ITV takeover?

Merger stokes fears over job cuts, US influence and possible BBC and Channel 4 tie-up to take on Netflix and YouTube Only five years ago a bullish ITV was riding high, trumpeting the biggest annual advertising haul in its history, as the broadcaster pledged to become a national champion in the battle against the US streamers. Now its chief executive, Carolyn McCall, has raised the white flag, arguing that a cut-price sale of its TV and streaming business to Sky is the only route to survival as deep-pocketed companies such as Netflix and YouTube hoover up audiences and commercial revenues.

‘End of an era’: what is the future of British TV after Sky’s ITV takeover?

Share this story

Send the public story page.

Useful takeaways from this story.

Merger stokes fears over job cuts, US influence and possible BBC and Channel 4 tie-up to take on Netflix and YouTube Only five years ago a bullish ITV was riding high, trumpeting the biggest annual...

Now its chief executive, Carolyn McCall, has raised the white flag, arguing that a cut-price sale of its TV and streaming business to Sky is the only route to survival as deep-pocketed companies such as...

Building the complete brief

The page is ready to read now. The fuller skim-friendly version will appear here automatically.

The useful part

Merger stokes fears over job cuts, US influence and possible BBC and Channel 4 tie-up to take on Netflix and YouTube Only five years ago a bullish ITV was riding high, trumpeting the biggest annual advertising haul in its history, as the broadcaster pledged to become a national champion in the battle against the US streamers. Now its chief executive, Carolyn McCall, has raised the white flag, arguing that a cut-price sale of its TV and streaming business to Sky is the only route to survival as deep-pocketed companies such as Netflix and YouTube hoover up audiences and commercial revenues.

Details worth keeping

Merger stokes fears over job cuts, US influence and possible BBC and Channel 4 tie-up to take on Netflix and YouTube Only five years ago a bullish ITV was riding high, trumpeting the biggest annual advertising haul in its history, as the broadcaster pledged to become a national champion in the battle against the US streamers. Now its chief executive, Carolyn McCall, has raised the white flag, arguing that a cut-price sale of its TV and streaming business to Sky is the only route to survival as deep-pocketed companies such as Netflix and YouTube hoover up audiences and commercial revenues.

Keep reading in the app

Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.

Open in app