ITV plc (LON:ITV) is considering entering into a £1bn joint venture with the BBC to acquire half of broadcaster UKTV, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph on Monday.
UKTV, whose channels include Dave and Gold, is an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and US firm Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:DISCA), which earlier this year completed the acquisition of US broadcaster Scripps Networks Interactive, the former owner of UKTV.
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The Daily Telegraph reported that, according to the terms of the current joint venture, the BBC has the right to buy out its partner at a set price before the end of next week.
The newspaper said the BBC had earlier approached Sky PLC (LON:SKY) as a potential partner in the joint venture but those talks did not work out.
In November last year, the newspaper had reported that the BBC’s commercial arm was considering a £500mln bid for full control of UKTV.
ITV is currently in the middle of a strategic review under new chief executive Carolyn McCall, who has previously said she would provide investors with an update of the review at the group’s half-year results in July.