Of course, at some point Sky could ax some ITV shows – or renegotiate their contracts. You don’t acquire another company without believing that there are savings to be made (and some are pointing to the synergy that could be made across technology platforms, with ITVX and Sky’s streaming services potentially merging in the future).
Longer term, Frost believes that users of both existing streaming platforms ITVX and NOW can expect to see more “integrated services, for example, bundling titles in terms of genre rather than channel, as a natural way of cutting production costs and cross-advertising”.
But when it comes to programs, they won’t be able to make significant changes to those favorite shows until the supply deal ends.
Producer Patrick Spence believes the deal is “exciting”. He won a BAFTA for Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which was a huge hit on ITV in 2024, with almost 15 million tuning in. He is currently producing Two Birds, a thriller starring Sheridan Smith for ITV.
He has also made dramas for Sky and told me that ITV and Sky are “great partners in many ways”.
“Once they get behind a show, they really get behind it,” says Spence. “They want to create a water cooler show that brings the audience together.”
He believes the deal is a sign that the regularly predicted end of so-called linear TV has been exaggerated.
He added, “We are often told about the death of broadcast TV.” “For producers it has been said that we are looking at the edge of a cliff where the only place to sell our programs will be streamers, or some version of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 all tying together.
“The takeaway I take from this deal, both as a producer and as an audience member, is that Sky must really like and trust ITV to simply buy the network. They believe there is a business that needs to be developed and operated that utilizes the audience reach and loyalty of the ITV network.”
