Comcast Looking To Make A Bid For Both Warner Bros. Discovery And UK Based Broadcaster ITV

Comcast’s European pay-TV business Sky is in talks to acquire U.K. TV giant ITV’s media and entertainment (M&E) unit.

In a statement early Friday morning London time, ITV said it “is in preliminary discussions regarding a possible sale of its M&E business to Sky for an enterprise value of £1.6 billion,” which translates to $2.1 billion.  

The M&E business includes ITV’s commercial free-to-air TV channels in the U.K., as well as its ITVX streaming platform. Its revenue for the first nine months of 2025 was down 5 percent from the year-ago period to £1.45 billion ($1.90 billion).

Not part of a deal would be production powerhouse ITV Studios, which produces such shows as Love Island, Britain’s Got Talent, and the Harlan Coben Netflix hit series Fool Me Once, among many others. ITV Studios has been the topic of much deal chatter in recent years, with the likes of Banijay, All3Media parent RedBird IMI, and others being cited as potential buyers.

Sky is led by CEO Dana Strong. It not only operates pay-TV and streaming businesses in the U.K., Ireland and Italy, but has also been growing its telecom offerings, such as broadband and mobile phone operations. Sky also owns the production arm Sky Studios, which is led by Cécile Frot-Coutaz and has been growing its investment in original content creation. Recent Sky Studios productions have included the likes of Mary & George, starring Julianne Moore, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, starring Harvey Keitel, and The Day of the Jackal, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch.

While confirming overnight reports of deal talks, ITV on Friday also emphasized that a transaction for its M&E division with Comcast’s Sky may ultimately not come together. “There can be no certainty as to the terms upon which any potential sale may be agreed or whether any transaction will take place,” its statement highlighted. “A further announcement will be made in due course if appropriate.”

lTV is led by CEO Carolyn McCall. The news of the deal talks came after ITV said on Thursday that it was planning $46 million in “temporary,” or “one-off,” cost savings amid “softer” advertising demand in the fourth quarter.

Comcast’s potential play for parts of ITV comes at a time when it also seems to be exploring a potential bid for parts of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Overnight reports said that Comcast has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to evaluate a possible deal for the David Zaslav-led Hollywood conglomerate’s studio and streaming businesses, following WBD’s recent decision to explore various deal options.

Thema Rebrands As Canal+ Distribution

Thema, the Canal+ Group company specialising in channel and content distribution, is adopting a new name: Canal+ Distribution.

The rebrand aligns the unit more closely with its parent and, according to the company, won’t change its mission to curate international programming and connect audiences across borders. It follows more than two decades of activity building agile distribution partnerships worldwide.

In a statement, Patrick Rivet, CEO, Canal+ Distribution said viewing tastes are shifting toward distinctive formats and “surprising narratives” from around the globe. Backed by the wider CANAL+ footprint — 40 million subscribers in 70+ countries— the unit will continue to source and package content both from its own portfolio and through long-standing alliances.

The company also thanked partners for their support, stressing that existing relationships and services remain in place following the name change.

Canal first agreed to buy a majority stake in Thema on October 28, 2014 (via Canal+ Overseas). It then completed the takeover to 100% ownership on June 27, 2016.

Canal+ Distribution will be involved in streamlining the delivery of content across various platforms, including traditional satellite (DStv, GOtv) and modern streaming services (Showmax, DStv Stream, MyCanal app), potentially leading to a unified "super app" in the future.

Why Canal+ Wants To Acquire Comcast's Stake In Showmax?

Canal+ plans to roll out a “super app” as MultiChoice becomes wholly owned by the company which would combine DStv and Showmax's operations. Even offer content from third party platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube.

Although, Canal+ had stated they had no intention of closing Showmax this super app might be their way of gradually phasing out the brand. They aren't pleased with the notion that MultiChoice would launch a platform that would rival with DStv.

Aside from Showmax, the combined company would also be operating DStv Stream, Canal+ app and VIU. They are assessing whether to keep these services separated or merge them hence the super app.

The biggest roadblock to its integration plans would be Comcast's 30% stake in the streamer. Disney had to go back and forth with the company in order to merge with Hulu and Disney+ this is what could await Canal+ in its pursuit for Showmax.

Some outlets had even talked about how Canal+ could potentially sell their stake and I can only assume similar to DStv, the company is optimising for growth. Showmax is the third most used streaming service behind Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, Fabric reports.

As for content, there's a very high possibility that Canal+ will axe and merge Showmax's content slate with that of DStv. They had produced about 4000 hours of African content while MultiChoice had 6000 hours combined they'd have 10,000 hours in a year.

Would Canal+ really need Showmax if they can curate 10,000 hours of content in 20 to 35 languages for DStv alone?

Will Cartoon Network Get A Name Change Under Discovery Global?

Cartoon Network's parent company as some people recall will be undergoing a split within the first quarter of 2026. Discovery Global will serve as the new parent company for the cable network while Teen Titans GO! and Batwheels forms part of Warner Bros.

Similar to Disney/FOX, a licensing agreement could be on the cards for Cartoon Network when it comes to use on the cable network. Warner Bros. which owns the trademark and IPs is being auctioned off to potential buyers including Netflix, Paramount, Apple and Comcast.

In the event of sale/split, Cartoon Network would continue to offer shows like Teen Titans GO! and Regular Show similar to how FOX still airs The Simpsons as it's part of the whole licensing.

In Cartoon Network's case, these may not be first run shows and might be prioritised on third party platforms like Showmax and Netflix. The channel may lean more toward shows like LEGO DREAMZzz and Dragonball Super as they reside from third party studios.  

Of course, Discovery Global won't be able to commission content under the trademark and the division The Cartoon Network Inc. which is used for animation brands like Cartoonito and Boing would have to be renamed in such an event.

Paramount Is Working To “Reimagine” MTV, Leading To The Cancellations Of Ridiculousness And Possible MTV Base Africa

According to "unverified sources", MTV Base is expected to close on DStv by 31 December 2025 as it forms part of Paramount's Pan-European feeds which would see various music channels close. As Paramount wants to shift it's focus on growing the main MTV brand.

MTV Base was launched on DStv by February 2005 offering a mixture of locally produced content and international hits. Overtime, it was expanded to include reality shows like MTV Shuga even award shows from Paramount's other cable networks.

It was ranked as the #1 music destination in West Africa ahead of rivals such as TRACE Urban and SoundCity. Now Paramount is looking to shutter the brand in Africa for several reasons.

A few months ago, Paramount finalised it's acquisition by Skydance and plans are underway to shed $2 billion costs. This includes closing various MTV channels across the world and cancellations to Ridiculousness and Catfish: The TV Show.

Similar to what M-Net did with Me and 1Magic or what Disney did with Disney Junior and Disney XD in some parts of the world. Paramount wants to put all its effort improving the situation regarding MTV.

For several years, Ridiculousness was the channel's Teen Titans GO! which took at one point took over 80% of the channel's schedule. To top it off, secondary networks such as MTV Base had been causing division if not stealing potential viewers.

Paramount wants to revamp MTV's content slate in order for it to better compete with NBCUniversal's Bravo with more doccies, reality shows and music. They want to move away from heavy reliance on viral video reactions and marathon reruns.