Does U.K. TV giant ITV, led by CEO Carolyn McCall, feel more pressure to boost the scale of its production arm ITV Studios after this week’s news of the mega-merger between production giants Banijay and All3Media? What is the state of ITV’s deal talks with Comcast‘s Sky? And what does the Paramount Skydance deal for Warner Bros. Discovery mean for ITV? Those were just some of the questions on a Thursday media call following the company’s latest earnings update.
Consolidation has long been a topic of much debate around ITV Studios, which produces such shows as Love Island, Britain’s Got Talent and the Harlan Coben Netflix hit series Fool Me Once. All3Media is owned by a joint investment partnership between Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird and IMI Media, led by RedBird operating partner and RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker.
And in November, ITV disclosed talks with Sky focused on the company’s commercial free-to-air TV channels in the U.K., as well as its ITVX streaming platform, with a deal set to leave ITV Studios as a separate asset.
Asked about the state of the Sky talks and ITV Studios’ deal outlook during a Thursday earnings conference call, McCall said: “We are actively engaged with Sky.” She added any further updates would be shared as and when appropriate.
About ITV Studios, she said: “We are very confident in the scale, …[and] very diversified” nature of the business. For Banjay and All3Media, the “consolidation will be a lot about cost synergies, but it will not affect our growth.”
What does the mega-deal mean for ITV Studios? “We don’t feel that it will have any impact on us,” McCall said, highlighting: “We are probably two and a half times the size of All3Media, so we need to put this into perspective. All3 is a really good company, but it is much, much smaller than I think people realize.” So, All3Media has long been smaller, and Banijay has long been bigger than ITV Studios, meaning their combination doesn’t change too much.
McCall later added: “For us, the size is not as important as the labels” and content, emphasizing. “We can compete.”
How about ITV’s overall approach to possible deals? “We grow organically wherever we can,” McCall said about the ITV Studios M&A strategy. Talent deals are another key focus. In terms of corporate M&A strategy, “we are very disciplined” to ensure a focus on shareholders,” she added.
Julian Bellamy, managing director of ITV Studios, echoed that, citing the need for any ITV Studios deal to make a “cultural fit, strategic fit and create value for our shareholders.”
ITV’s earnings report also saw MCCall highlight the success of both the traditional cable networks and the ITV Studios businesses. “We have created two resilient and attractive businesses,” she said.
During a Wednesday conference call, François Riahi, the CEO of Banijay Group, the parent company of Banijay, was asked about the merged entity’s possible interest in ITV Studios. “Consolidation is the name of the game,” he said, adding that the company would keep all options open. “When you look at the Warner-Paramount deal, it’s very easy to understand why you need to be big and global to be relevant in this sector. So we share this view with RedBird IMI.”
ITV management on Thursday seemed not worried about the latest Hollywood mega-deal. Asked about the Paramount Skydance deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, McCall said: “Paramount, now that they have stability … and they are ambitious, they are opening up.”
