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Crikey this will help too!: “Flint Global's co-founder, Ed Richards, has direct experience with ITV, having worked as the CEO of Ofcom, the UK's media regulator”

Sky have chosen a powerful running partner.

Https://flint-global.com/team-members/james-purnell/

“Dana Strong, the American chief executive of Sky, hopes to convince UK competition regulators that times have changed — that Britain’s broadcasters are no longer in competition with each other, but rather America’s tech giants. To make that point for her, Strong has brought in a Westminster heavyweight to help her fight this regulatory scrap: James Purnell, a former Labour minister and BBC executive, and his lobbying outfit Flint Global.”

Https://web.archive.org/web/20251109090850/https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/sky-to-buy-itv-sale-deal-q72z8lhg5

Here’s an article written by Dana Strong last year for an insight into her thoughts.

Https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-13612269/Starmer-loved-British-TV-film-growth-says-Sky-boss-DANA-STRONG.html

Interview with Dana Strong, the chief executive of Sky, days before news broke.

Https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-15271885/As-Sky-boss-DANA-STRONG-eyes-ITV-reveals-secret-success.html

Good article on regulation today (found by Huckers @ ADVFN)

Approval seems to hinge on seeing the total ad market as “video” (eg inc YouTube) rather than just TV. The world has changed since the last time the CMA looked into ITV and it seems some there acknowledge this now…

https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/concern-skys-itv-bid-imperils-public-service-broadcasting

Redcain you are a kindred spirit - god speed to you. We are going to smash this ITV situation

People will say this is wishful thinking - but simply the reveal of Comcast’s intention could trigger others to act.

There are plenty of examples of this with other investments and literally with Sky - when Comcast caused Disney to compete in an auction, driving up the price. Google “comcast disney sky” for some interesting reading!

And as for ITV well Liberty originally bought ITV to partly block BSkyB or NTL from taking over ITV.

So as I say - literally anything could happen here.

How about this crazy idea - Liberty buy back their 5% stake to try and block Comcast!

Let’s read the Liberty RNS again:

“The Seller has undertaken to the Banks (as defined below) not to sell further shares in the Company for the period of 60 calendar days following the completion of the Placing, subject to certain customary exceptions.”

Undertaken not to SELL ITV shares for 60 days.

Nothing about BUYING!

Anything can happen. And probably will…

Well I think the brand itself is very strong.

“ITV” is an instantly recognised name and logo across all generations in the UK, and perhaps increasingly abroad too thanks to units like ITV America.

And specifically “ITVX” with its simple but sexy X (!) has exploded onto the UK media scene in just a short space of time.

I think therefore there is a lot of goodwill value in these brands that new owners may still want to leverage.

So perhaps the names “ITV” and “ITVX” might live on even if the legal bit at the back end no longer exists…

Thanks Steinbecking that’s a good article.

“The assumption from some of our sources is that ITV CEO Carolyn McCall will seek a buyer for the studios business soon after the sale of networks. ”

It would be great to discuss this one comment from the article above.

It feels almost like ITV might cease to exist as a corporate entity.

Broadcast merges into Sky and Studios is sold to some unknown third party.

Is this really the endgame anyone expected? Goodbye from ITV - that’s all folks…

Winstanley - £1.6bn for Broadcast and £3.3bn for Studios total £4.9bn divided by 3.75bn shares comes to 130p so you might be spot on if this plays out as we all hope!!!

Is literally anyone selling now? Sentiment has shifted monumentally this week. A short squeeze could help a lot here too…

“Should ITV offload its broadcaster, it would still be left with a content production business expected to make £330mn of operating profit this year, according to Bank of America. At a multiple of 10 times — below recent transactions in the sector — that alone would be worth £3.3bn.”

ITV’s kitchen sink drama may yet have a happy ending

Https://www.ft.com/content/e6ed726d-2d08-497e-8064-25979b6a0b42

7th Nov: “J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven reiterated a Buy rating on ITV plc today and set a price target of p105.00.”

Incredible that suddenly even 105p doesn’t feel like quite enough! Crazy times…

Https://www.tipranks.com/news/blurbs/j-p-morgan-keeps-their-buy-rating-on-itv-plc-itv-blurbs-2

“It’s up to ITV to get this break-up deal over the line”

“Sky owner’s unexpected offer for the broadcaster’s television wing looks viable — and almost too good to be true for long-suffering investors”

Https://web.archive.org/web/20251108080059/https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/itv-break-up-deal-over-line-j699j9zb9

The Times (no paywall)

“Sky may be the limit for both parts of ITV”

Https://web.archive.org/web/20251107205945/https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/sky-may-be-the-limit-for-both-parts-of-itv-58bwc0rr0

Wow this article is worth a read - goes far beyond the much repeated comments.

“Sir Peter Bazalgette, ITV’s former chairman, summed it up perfectly: “Regulators have to redefine what the advertising market actually is—Google and Meta are the real rivals now, not just TV networks.” That shift in thinking might get the deal approved, but it’ll take at least nine to twelve months of scrutiny from Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, likely with strings attached.”

Https://www.ctol.digital/news/itv-sky-16-billion-fire-sale-streaming-wars/

And now here is Sky themselves - explaining why the deal makes sense!

Https://news.sky.com/story/why-a-sky-itv-deal-makes-sense-in-a-shifting-entertainment-landscape-13465639

Always nice to read AJ Bell’s no nonsense opinions!

“Dan Coatsworth at AJ Bell said the broadcaster may finally have found a buyer for “the ball and chain” part of its business, the slower-growth media arm, which includes free-to-air channels and streaming platform ITVX, which would leave the pureplay content production business of ITV Studios.

It will become "an instant takeover target" itself, said Coatsworth, suggesting Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) would be a potential buyer to obtain a rich library of content to feed its platform.”

I guess that would be the ultimate scenario for shareholders, first a sale of broadcast potentially including payment of a special dividend from some of the proceeds and then while we’re still counting that - the bit we are left with gets a takeover approach! Yeah I’m going to put this outcome on my wish list…!

Https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1082040/itv-deal-could-create-material-value-but-regulators-might-object-say-analysts-1082040.html

No it’s not 3.93b - as per last RNS 01-May this is the correct shares divisor:

“Therefore, the total number of voting rights in ITV was 3,758,189,219”

Less. Better. :)

The 70% figure is being mentioned a lot - but in situations like this companies often negotiate with the authorities eg around divestment of subsidiaries - so actions can be taken to smooth the approval.