{"id":576539,"date":"2026-07-09T08:15:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/576539\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:15:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:15:15","slug":"sky-to-put-originals-like-day-of-the-jackal-on-itv-after-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/576539\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky To Put Originals Like ‘Day Of The Jackal’ On ITV After Takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: <\/strong>ITV<\/a> is expected to host Sky<\/a> original series like The Day of the Jackal<\/a> and Saturday Night Live UK<\/a> under plans being drawn up by its new parent company, Deadline understands.<\/p>\n

\n\tComcast-owned Sky announced<\/a> its \u00a31.6 billion ($2.1 billion) acquisition of ITV\u2019s network and streaming unit earlier this week and, although the deal will be subject to lengthy regulatory approval, Sky has already held internal talks about giving original series airtime on its new asset.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe thinking is at an early stage, but sources told Deadline that Sky executives have considered how they could, for example, air the first season of Day of the Jackal on ITV before Season 2 premieres on Sky. It follows CEO Dana Strong revealing that Sky will window sport on ITV, meaning some Premier League fixtures could broadcast on the network.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe hope is that content sharing could benefit both Sky and ITV. Firstly, ITV could sell advertising and sponsorship around a glossy original series by bringing it to a bigger audience on free-to-air television. Sky would then aim to convert these viewers into subscribers.<\/p>\n

\n\tUK industry insiders said Sky could also look to premiere first episodes of new series on ITV, or use the network to amplify topical shows like SNL UK by airing reruns. There is a recognition at Sky that not all of its series will be right for an ITV audience, but executives are aware of its marketing firepower.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tEddie Redmayne in \u2018The Day of the Jackal\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarcell Piti\/Carnival Film & Television Limited<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHaving ITV on tap is huge for Sky,\u201d said one source. \u201cITV is one of the largest commercial broadcasters in Western Europe \u2014 on a good day, its audience is massive. Getting new eyeballs to expensive drama is smart.\u201d A second person added: \u201cSNL will be the jewel in the crown of this deal. It will be Sky\u2019s opportunity to say: \u2018We have transformed British comedy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUltimately, producers told Deadline that ITV can help Sky answer lingering questions about its ability to cut through with original series.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the first half of 2026, Sky has not had a single title break into the official weekly lists of the top 50 biggest shows on British television. The closest Sky came was in January, when the premiere of Under Salt Marsh, a crime drama starring Kelly Reilly and Rafe Spall, was watched by 1.8M viewers in its first seven days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn comparison, Sky\u2019s premium rivals consistently make the top 50 rankings published by ratings body Barb. Netflix has had six UK originals in the weekly lists this year. Amazon Prime Video registered two entries.<\/p>\n

\n\tSky\u2019s internal audience figures show that seven of its top 10 most-watched series last year were originals, while Boyzone: No Matter What was its highest-rated documentary on record. In 2026, The Dyers\u2019 Caravan Park hit a five-year overnight high for a Sky entertainment series, while SNL UK consistently outperformed its slot average and went viral on social media.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Under Salt Marsh\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tSky Studios CEO C\u00e9cile Frot-Coutaz has been in post for four years, during which time she has narrowed the originals slate to focus more on big-ticket scripted series. It\u2019s a strategy best illustrated by The Day of the Jackal, the Eddie Redmayne assassin story that became Sky\u2019s highest-rated original drama ever with 3M viewers in 2024.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the hours after Sky announced the ITV takeover, Frot-Coutaz messaged respected British producers offering to answer their questions about the deal. Although the Sky content chief\u2019s words were said to be unremarkable, one recipient said the message itself symbolized that she will be in charge of the purse strings once the deal completes next year.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe former YouTube executive will command a budget comfortably north of \u00a31 billion a year, making her second only to the BBC\u2019s Kate Phillips as the most powerful content chief in the UK. Frot-Coutaz is viewed as a smart and strategic executive, but some producers still have doubts about her creative credentials and the layers of decision-making she has introduced at Sky. Deadline detailed these reservations in a story in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn a press call this week, Sky boss Strong told Deadline that it was too early to comment on how the commissioning structure will change with the addition of ITV, where Kevin Lygo calls the content shots. Producers are clear that it would not be practical or palatable to import Sky\u2019s style at ITV. \u201cContent chiefs with small slates and lots of money can take time to make decisions because there are not many decisions to make,\u201d said a respected producer. \u201cIf you have that level of f**kery at ITV, you will get gridlock very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Love Island UK\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are mixed views about Sky\u2019s \u00a32.1 billion output deal with ITV Studios for key ITV series, including Love Island and Coronation Street. An ITV Studios source said it was sensible for both sides, preventing hit series from being shopped around and giving producers an incentive to take their new ideas to Sky. A third-party production chief said it could limit opportunities at Sky and raises questions about \u201cconcentrations of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPeter Fincham, a former ITV content boss and co-founder of Clarkson\u2019s Farm producer Expectation, said the arrangement could create uncertainty towards the end of its term in 2032 \u2014 particularly if ITV Studios is acquired. \u201cI can\u2019t actually work out whether the cards are more in the production hand or more in the broadcast hand. It depends on all sorts of things you can\u2019t possibly predict at this moment,\u201d said the co-host of Insiders: The TV Podcast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: ITV is expected to host Sky original series like The Day of the Jackal and Saturday Night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[18,117,19,17,2770,148254,4657,8228,128],"class_list":["post-576539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-itv","tag-saturday-night-live-uk","tag-sky","tag-the-day-of-the-jackal","tag-tv"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116889029389819878","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}