‘Scale is survival’: UK broadcasters race to merge as streaming giants squeeze revenues Media British broadcasters are turning to mergers as television revenues come under pressure from streaming services, YouTube and online ads, according to Ofcom. The media regulator’s annual Media Nations report found commercial broadcaster revenues fell from £4.98bn to £4.83bn in 2025, despite the wider TV and online video market growing seven per cent to £18.4bn. Growth [...]
Sky and ITV mount defence of £1.6bn merger as regulators probe deal Media Sky and ITV will argue their proposed £1.6bn merger controls only around a fifth of Britain’s advertising market as they seek to convince competition regulators to approve one of the biggest media deals in decades, Morning Wire understands. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday invited comments on Sky’s planned acquisition of ITV’s Media [...]
ITV says ‘no guarantees’ on jobs after £1.6bn Sky deal Media ITV and Sky executives have said they can make no guarantees on job cuts after the two companies announced a £1.6bn merger on Monday. Employees of ITV have been warned the tie-up between Britain’s two biggest commercial broadcasters could lead to redundancies, and there are “no guarantees” over their jobs. Speaking after the acquisition was [...]
BBC News faces hundreds of job cuts in major downsizing drive June 15, 2026 The BBC is expected to announce hundreds of job cuts across its core news division next week, as the broadcaster begins a sweeping cost-cutting programme ahead of crunch talks with ministers over its future funding. The corporation’s news operation is set to be the first part of the BBC to reveal detailed redundancy plans, according [...]
Martin Sorrell calls WPP ‘catatonic’ as Goldman slaps sell rating on its own client June 4, 2026 Sir Martin Sorrell spent 33 years turning WPP from a small Kent-based wire and plastics manufacturer into the world’s largest ad company. He left in 2018 following a dispute over personal conduct that he has consistently denied, and has been a vocal critic of his successors ever since. “I think they are further gone than [...]
Google hit with UK-first AI crackdown over publisher content June 3, 2026 Google will be forced to give publishers greater control over how their content is used in AI-generated search results after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) unveiled what it described as a “world-first” intervention aimed at re-balancing power between Big Tech and content creators. The move comes as publishers increasingly complain that Google’s AI Overviews [...]
New Married At First Sight series still in edit despite ‘troubling’ allegations May 20, 2026 Channel 4’s new chief executive, Priya Dogra, has said allegations surrounding Married at First Sight (MAFS) UK were “really hard to watch”, as the broadcaster weighs the future of the hit reality show while the next series remains in edit. Dogra confirmed on Wednesday that no decision had yet been made on whether the upcoming [...]
Future bets on SheerLuxe as Google squeezes digital publishers May 14, 2026 Future said the acquisition of SheerLuxe and a push into AI-driven products would help return the publisher to growth after weaker digital ad and ecommerce markets dragged profits lower in the first half. The media group behind Marie Claire, TechRadar and Go.Compare reported revenue of £349.1m for the six months to March 31, down from [...]
ITV banks on World Cup boost as Sky talks rumble on May 14, 2026 ITV is eyeing a rebound in ad revenue in the second quarter as the broadcaster bets on the World Cup to power a summer recovery. The broadcaster and producer behind Love Island and Rivals posted flat revenue for the first quarter, with growth in ITV Studios and streaming platform ITVX offsetting weaker ad sales. Total [...]
Google to teach small publishers how to use AI amid copyright row May 12, 2026 Google has launched an AI training programme for small publishers to teach them how to benefit from AI, as the technology continues to reshape how audiences access news. The announcement follows a similar scheme launched by the Mag Seven firm last year, which had targetted bigger players in the industry, with names like Tindle Newspapers [...]