Channel 4 has asked the competition regulator to look hard at Sky’s £1.6bn purchase of ITV’s broadcast business, and it is not alone. For anyone who buys TV airtime late and at a discount, the question is no longer whether the market is consolidating but how many sales houses will be left to negotiate with by 2027.
What’s happened
On 21 September Campaign reported that Channel 4 has called for “robust scrutiny” of Sky’s proposed takeover of ITV’s Media and Entertainment division, while making clear it is not trying to block the deal. That puts the country’s third sales house on the record alongside ISBA, which told the CMA in August that advertisers need answers on pricing, transparency, independent measurement, innovation and competition before the deal goes through. The CMA opened its case in July and, as of its last update on 18 September, has still not formally started its Phase 1 investigation, with Sky and ITV guiding towards completion in the second half of 2027. The argument that will decide it is about definitions: according to City AM, Sky and ITV say the combined business would hold roughly a fifth of all UK advertising once streaming, social and search are counted, whereas on a TV-only view analysts put the combined share of television airtime sales at around 70%.
Why it matters to TV advertisers buying late space
We spend a lot of our working week ringing sales houses in the final fortnight before an auction, a fight night or a claims campaign, asking what is unsold. That conversation only works because there is more than one person to ring. Last week we wrote about Channel 4 Sales taking on 5 from 2027. If Sky then absorbs ITV, the UK moves from three commercial doors to two: Channel 4 Sales on one side and a Sky-ITV house on the other. A sales house with 70% of airtime does not need to clear a distressed schedule the way a smaller house does, and that is the real risk for buyers whose model depends on late discounts rather than share deals.
Channel 4’s intervention matters because it signals where the pressure will come from while the deal is under review. A sales house that is arguing for scrutiny is also a sales house that wants to look competitive, which in our experience means better late deals from Channel 4 over the next few quarters. Equally, Sky Media and ITV will want to show the regulator that advertisers are being treated fairly, so this is a good window in which to hold every house to its rate card and its promises on audience delivery.
For our clients the sector angle is straightforward. Auction houses lean on ITV daytime and regional airtime to reach older, affluent homes; combat sports promotions lean on Sky’s sport-adjacent inventory and late-peak on 5Action and ITV4; claims firms buy volume across all of it. Each of those plans currently plays one house off against another. Our job is to keep that leverage alive while the market shrinks around it.
What we’d do
Trade the uncertainty, don’t wait for it to resolve. A deal under review is a deal that both sides want to look good during. We are asking Sky Media and ITV for firmer late-space terms and clearer audience guarantees for Q4 2026 and Q1 2027 now, while there is a regulator watching how they behave.
Rebalance station-level plans towards where the pressure sits. We are rebuilding plans by station and daypart rather than by sales house, so that an auction client’s ITV daytime weighting and a promoter’s late-peak sport weighting survive whichever way the sales houses are drawn in 2027.
Put your view to the CMA. The CMA has already asked interested parties for views once and its formal investigation has not yet started, so there is still time. If you spend meaningfully on TV, a short, factual note on how you buy and what you fear losing carries weight. We will draft it with you and make sure it says something a competition lawyer can use.
How VCM can help
VCM negotiates late-space TV airtime with every UK sales house, week in and week out, so we know what the market will bear before a merger changes the answer. Have a look at our TV advertising service, then get in touch — call 0333 577 1848 or email James@vcmweb.co.uk — and we will tell you what your next TV campaign should cost right now, no obligation.
