ITV calls off £1bn takeover of Fleabag and Gogglebox maker

ITV is no longer considering a takeover of television production company All3Media, the broadcaster said in a short statement to investors on Friday.

The potential deal emerged last month with reports suggesting that ITV was ‘actively exploring’ a takeover of All3Media, maker of Fleabag and Gogglebox, in a deal that could be worth more than £1bn.

But the broadcaster, led by Carolyn McCall, told investors it was “no longer actively exploring” a potential deal, though it said it continues to monitor “the company owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global.”

The FTSE 250 broadcaster added: ‘ITV is assessing all possible value creation [merger and acquisition] opportunities against the strict financial criteria and disciplined capital allocation framework.”

It was initially understood that ITV was planning to merge All3Media with its ITV Studios arm in an attempt to boost the broadcaster’s production division.

In 2022, the ITV’s profits rose 4 per cent to £501 million and revenue rose 7 per cent to £4.3 billion, although one of the main measures investors looked at, advertising revenue, fell slightly.

Digital advertising revenues rose sharply, as did studio revenues.

However, many media organizations are now experiencing a slowdown in digital advertising revenues as companies cut back on marketing spending.

ITV was also rocked this year by the departure of presenter Philip Schofield, who stepped down from This Morning following The Mail on Sunday’s revelation that the high-profile presenter was dating a much younger colleague.

His departure is the latest in a string of high-profile departures that have also included Jeremy Kyle and Piers Morgan since CEO McCall’s reign began in 2018.

ITV shares were down 0.4 percent to 68.54 pence in early trading.