ITV Is Reportedly “Early Stage” Talks To Merge Production Business With All3Media Owner RedBird IMI

Talk about ITV selling off or merging its production business has been one of the British television industry’s longest-running rumors.

Reuters is reporting that the company is in talks to merge ITV Studios, which is responsible for series such as Love Island and Netflix’s Fool Me Once, with RedBird IMI’s All3Media.

This comes after RedBird IMI completed its $1.45B takeover of The Traitors production group last year.

Last November, ITV shares surged after a report that the commercial broadcaster was in talks to carve up or sell its production business with France’s TF1 and Formula One owner CVC Capital Partners among the interested parties.

The latest report suggests that ITV could merge Studios with All3Media, which operates labels including Studio Lambert and Neal Street Productions with RedBird IMI, which is run by Jeff Zucker, and ITV holding stakes.

If such a deal did go through – and any such merger would take a long time even if it did – it would create a major new production business that rivals the size of Black Mirror owner Banijay, BBC Studios and Fremantle.

Deadline has reached out to ITV and RedBird IMI for comment.

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