ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said ITV initiated the agreement for Sky to buy its media and entertainment division.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society London Convention, McCall said: “We approached Sky. We felt they were the single best partner.”
The agreement, struck in July, would include ITV’s terrestrial television channels and streaming service ITVX. It would not include ITV Studios, which makes programmes including I’m A Celebrity and Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
McCall said the proposed transaction was not a merger but “Sky buying ITV media and entertainment”. She said the deal followed closer cooperation between the companies, including work to bring their streaming businesses together, which she said was not possible under their different ownership structures.
If the transaction goes through and is approved by regulators, ITV Studios would become a standalone “pure-play global content business” with its shares listed on the London Stock Exchange. ITV said it would also have a long-term agreement to supply content to the newly combined Sky and ITV.
McCall said ITV Studios was capable of operating as a standalone business and described it as a “really strong business”.
Sky Studios chief executive Cecile Frot-Coutaz said the transaction would create a streaming platform focused on British viewers. She said the companies were “bringing together two big UK media companies”.
