UK's ITV says it remains in 'active' deal talks with Sky

LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV said on ​Thursday ‌it remained in "active discussions" to sell its media and entertainment division ⁠to Comcast's Sky, as it forecast a ⁠boost in advertising revenue ​from the World Cup in June and July.

The "Coronation Street" broadcaster said in November it was in talks to sell its M&E ​unit to ‌pay-TV group Sky in a deal that would value the business at 1.6 billion pounds ($2.16 billion).

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the deal would include a payout dependent on the ​ITV unit's performance, with two sources putting the earn-out portion ‌at 200 million pounds.

ITV said on Thursday its total external revenue grew 1% in the ‌first quarter, as growth in its production and digital revenues more than offset a 1.5% decline in linear advertising.

It forecast ​a strong boost in ad revenue from the soccer World Cup, which begins ‌in June, saying it expected total advertising revenue to rise by around 10% in the April-June quarter, followed by a "strong" July.

"While ⁠we are ⁠monitoring the ongoing difficult geopolitical environment, we ‌are focused on what we can control and remain on track to deliver ​our full ​year guidance of good revenue growth in ‌ITV Studios and strong profitable digital revenue growth in M&E," Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said. ($1 = 0.7398 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Muvija M and Sarah Young)

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