Sky agrees to buy British broadcaster ITV for up $2.1 billion to compete with streaming giants

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LONDON (AP) — Sky, the UK-based TV, internet and mobile phone provider owned by Comcast, has agreed to buy ITV’s media and entertainment arm for up to 1.6 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) after months of talks to create a major competitor to the global streaming giants.

The deal includes the terrestrial TV channels and streaming service of ITV, Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster. ITV’s production arm, ITV Studios, known for shows such as the “I’m A Celebrity’’ series, will remain an independent company.

The transaction will “create a UK champion with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms,” ITV Chairman Andrew Cosslett said in a statement.

The combined Sky-ITV entity will become part of NBCUniversal following the completion of its split from Comcast, ITV said.