ITV abandons plans for takeover of Gogglebox maker All3Media

By Anna Wise, PA Business Reporter

ITV has abandoned potential plans to buy Gogglebox and Call The Midwife producer All3Media, less than a month after expressing interest in a deal.

The broadcasting giant said it “continues to monitor but is not longer actively exploring” an acquisition.

Last month, ITV said it was considering snapping up the production firm from joint owners Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global to combine it with its ITV Studios arm.

Reports said All3Media is worth an estimated £1 billion (€1.17 billion), but ITV said at the time that “there can be no certainty” the takeover would happen.

A buyout would have boosted content for ITV Studios, which produces popular series like Love Island, The Voice, Queer Eye and Line Of Duty.

The Studios business reported a 19 per cent rise in revenues and 22 per cent increase in earnings for 2022.

All3Media, which spans more than 40 production companies, reported record revenue of £1 billion in 2022, and earnings of £100 million, it said.

The decision to pull out of the possible deal comes after the widely reported departure of former This Morning host Phillip Schofield after he admitted having an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a younger colleague.

ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said allegations of a toxic culture at the programme “deeply disappoint me”, but told MPs in Parliament that she did not recognise that description.

The firm said it continues to assess “all potential value-creating” merger and acquisition opportunities.

Its share price dipped by 0.3 per cent on Friday morning.