ITV’s loss of independence would be a blow to creative Britain, says ALEX BRUMMER

The possibility of a bid for ITV has boosted the lagging share price. Yet Britain’s largest terrestrial broadcaster seems vastly undervalued as a creative enterprise.

Consider this. Almost every leading show on the small screen currently has its origins in ITV Studios.

The list includes the BBC series Ludwig starring David Mitchell, the Netflix hit Fool Me Once and Disney’s Rivals, as well as the politically explosive Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

The biggest changes at ITV since Carolyn McCall took the helm in 2018 have been the group’s revenue streams. Revenues from ITV Studios and streaming service ITV

If you were to price ITV Studios at the same level as All3Media, which was sold to RedBird IMI in May this year, it would be worth more than £3 billion.

That’s more than the entire broadcaster, which is valued at £2.5bn following the latest 8.6 per cent rise to 71.15p in the group’s shares.

If a bidder were to emerge, it would gain control of a broadcasting platform for nothing, with the ability to attract large-scale audiences while delivering linear advertising.

ITV is a bellwether for Britain and has suffered the same shocks as the rest of Britain in recent years: the Great Financial Crisis, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.

The prospects in recent months have been damaged by the prolonged interregnum between the Labor election and the budget. Both have led to large-scale corporate advertisers cutting back on their plans.

There are few better ways to reach a mass audience than ITV.

I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here already attracts nine million viewers. Perennial favorites such as Coronation Street are gold dust for advertisers.

There has been no discernible change in ITV’s share register to date.

The largest stake of 10.45 percent is held by John Malone’s growing media empire Liberty Global. He and his smart lieutenants would not want ITV to be sold on the cheap.

Activist investors on the register, such as Redwheel and Silchester, might take a different view.

There must be a possibility that someone wants to spin off studios as a way to free up value.

Private equity company CVC, named as a bidder (no approach has yet been taken), may want to acquire part of the sports rights.

Buying ITV is not as easy as it seems. The group’s license, valid until 2034, contains obligations. These include generating output in the UK regions and dedicating airtime to news bulletins.

Most importantly, ITV’s loss of independence would be a blow to creative Britain. This comes at a time when the Labor government has remembered that it is a sector that is excelling and ready for growth.

Pink panthers

The most shocking aspect of Barclays’ agreement to pay a £40 million fine to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), over the bank’s fundraising in Qatar in 2008, is the time it has taken to enforce discipline to impose.

Excuses can be made for the delays, including the parallel prosecution by the equally useless Serious Fraud Office (SFO), but white-collar justice, lasting sixteen years, is a waste of space.

Since then, Barclays’ board has been replenished and the bank has had to weather a new crisis over the connection between former boss Jes Staley and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In balance sheet terms, the payout is a rounding error.

The UK system of financial enforcement is disastrous. An outraged report from MPs and the Lords accuses the FCA of being ‘incompetent at best and dishonest at worst’.

Instead of providing swift and robust white-collar justice, the SFO is facing multi-million pound legal costs over the failed prosecution of the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC).

Such humiliations have made British financial justice a laughing stock.

Carbon withdrawal

Anglo American shows that self-help is preferable to selling to a major overseas rival that would have crushed its culture and ambition.

The sale of Australia’s remaining steelmaking coal mines to Peabody Energy, once part of British conglomerate Hanson, will free up £3.1 billion for investment in copper and other ventures. Next De Beers?