The proposed acquisition by Sky of ITV Media and Entertainment for £1.6 billion faces scrutiny by Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary. She has said she is minded to intervene in the anticipated merger. Subject to assessments from the communications regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, she would need to decide whether to refer this for a more detailed investigation by the CMA.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has written to the legal representatives of Sky and ITV to inform them that the secretary of state is minded to intervene.

Such intervention would be under the Enterprise Act 2002 under public interest considerations.

The public interest grounds cited are the need for free expression of opinion in news media, for a sufficient plurality of views in news media, and for a sufficient plurality of persons with control.

The culture secretary says she is also minded to intervene on public interest grounds that are not specified in the current legislation to account for the availability of high-quality and varied programming on demand.

In the event that she decides to intervene, she says she would bring forward legislation to extend the application of the public interest consideration to on-demand programmes.

Letters have been sent to the lawyers acting for Sky and ITV regarding the proposed acquisition.

They note that the independence of Sky News is protected under agreements given by Comcast when it acquired Sky in 2018 but these are due to expire at the end of 2028.

Sky and ITV currently operate separate news services. Under the proposed acquisition, Sky would acquire a 20% shareholding in ITN, which provides national news programming for ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5.

Sky had a 44% share of all live sports broadcasting in the United Kingdom in 2025, which ITV had 16%, with the BBC at 26%. A combined Sky and ITV would have 60% of all live sports viewing.

The letters also express concern about the potential impact on STV, which holds the channel 3 licence for Scotland and buys programming from ITV.

There is also concern about Sky taking a 25% stake in Everyone TV, which is currently owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, and manages the main free-to-air television platforms on their behalf.

The possibility is suggested that Sky and ITV may have incentives to streamline and consolidate their on-demand programme services and that freely available ITVX programming may diminish or be charged for in the future.

The letters to lawyers for Sky and ITV give them a matter of days to respond.

The government has previously accepted legally binding undertakings concerning editorial independence and investment in programming in connection with the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.

In 2018, concerns about media plurality in the proposed acquisition of Sky by 21st Century Fox led the Competition and Markets Authority to recommend the divestment of Sky News.

The proposed Sky acquisition of ITV could similarly proceed subject to further undertakings, although a formal investigation could result in more substantial remedies or potentially prohibition.

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The BBC News channel has been made available through YouTube for viewers in the United Kingdom and United States. It is a described as a trial and is part of a wider strategy to reach new and younger audiences where they are. Whether they will want to watch the BBC News channel there is another matter.

The BBC News Channel is already available on YouTube in a number of other countries, including Australia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Poland.

“Audiences increasingly expect news to be available wherever they are, on the platforms they use throughout their day,” said Anjali Kapoor, the director of AI, innovation and growth for BBC News.

“Launching the BBC News channel on YouTube in the UK and US is an important step in bringing our trusted journalism to even more people. It will make it easier for audiences to access live coverage of the stories shaping our world, while helping us reach new audiences in the places and at the times that work best for them.”

Alison Lomax, the managing director of YouTube UK, said: “It is an incredible milestone that YouTube’s audiences in the UK, US, Australia, Kenya, Nigeria and Poland can now access BBC’s live news channel, making trusted news even more accessible to a new generation of digital first viewers”.

Earlier this year, the BBC announced a landmark deal with YouTube, which will see the corporation make programming specifically for the online platform.

Matt Brittin, the new director general of the BBC, was previously president of Google for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He recently said: “BBC content should be on Netflix, on YouTube, on TikTok, on Spotify and Instagram, and everywhere where audiences are.”

The communications regulator Ofcom reported that in 2025 those aged 16-34 watched live television for an average of just over 15 minutes a day, and a total of broadcaster output including recordings and video-on-demand of just over 43 minutes a day, compared to nearly 74 minutes a day of online video sharing platforms like YouTube.

One of the benefits of online delivery is that it is possible to measure usage accurately. The BBC News page on YouTube shows it has over 20 million subscribers. However, the number watching The BBC News Channel live whenever we checked was in the low hundreds.

Interestingly, viewers watching the News Channel live in the United Kingdom requires a television licence, a funding model that the new director general has described as “a busted flush” and “no longer fit for purpose”.

A government white paper on the is expected to be published before Christmas, which will set out how the corporation will be governed, regulated and funded from 2028 onwards.

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A new Apple TV box is expected. It is hard to believe that Apple TV was first announced 20 years go, initially as iTV. It will be the fourth generation of the media player, coming four years after the last update. Meanwhile, an update is also expected to the Google TV Streamer. Will this bring more conversational intelligence to the television experience?

Apple is expected to announce product updates at an event it is calling “Welcome home”. No major external changes are expected to the Apple TV, but a processor upgrade could give the box more power to handle any artificial intelligence features. That could involve a revised remote control. More local intelligence could support a more natural conversational interface with Siri AI.

Apple TV is becoming a premium product that works well for those committed to the Apple ecosystem. So far it has remained relatively neutral with respect to the services it offers through installable apps. It has also largely eschewed traditional television channels.

Apple is competing with other players like Amazon and Google, which are also looking to control the living room screen interface.

Google is also expected to release a new version of its Google TV Streamer box. It expected to include microphones, enabling it to respond directly to voice commands.

Voice control offers advantages for searching and selecting what to watch, while artificial intelligence can offer recommendations.

There may still be a role for a physical remote control for simple functions like pause and resume, mute and volume controls.

Google is also expected to include more shortcut buttons to join existing buttons for YouTube and Netflix.

All of which is leading to simplified user interfaces, but it gives the provider of the remote more control over the experience.

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