BT tipped to make ITV bid

The next two years could see high-profile acquisitions including UK telecoms giant BT taking over broadcaster ITV, according to market analyst CCS Insight.

Shaun Collins

The consolidation seen in TV production over the past two years would be dwarfed by such a move, which CCS Insight forecast will happen by 2018.

CCS Insight’s rationale is that the telco needs to broaden its content rights position beyond sport, where it has recently challenged satcaster Sky’s position in the UK market by acquiring English Premier League football rights.

“In addition to a slew of rights contracts, ITV provides BT with a free-to-air platform for some of its programming, an established channel to advertisers and an attractive source of content in the broadcaster’s ITV Studios arm,” CCS Insight said.

A takeover of ITV has been speculated about for the past year. Various major US and European media firms are said to be eyeing the commercial broadcaster, which has been valued at around US$10bn, but there has been no indication so far that BT is considering a bid.

Over the summer, US cable giant Liberty Global increased its stake in ITV from 6.4% to 9.9% for an estimated £380m (US$591m), but ruled out making a full takeover bid.

Analysts have previously told C21 that they expect ITV to sell to a US media giant by 2017.

Meanwhile, CCS Insight also believes that the likes of Google and Apple will join BT in setting off a wave of market consolidation that will “fundamentally change” the telecoms and tech market in the next few years.

Another prediction from the analyst is that virtual reality (VR) technology will continue to evolve, with web companies like Facebook, Amazon and Netflix driving the creation and delivery of VR content.

Shaun Collins, CEO and founder of CCS Insight, said: “The next few years are set to see more massive shake-ups within the media and telecoms technology sector, with the continued consolidation of the telecoms market and increasingly sophisticated consumers forcing tech companies to push the boundaries and provide the next level of innovation.”