The Great British Bake Off 'could move to ITV'
The Great British Bake Off could switch channels once again, according to a source.
The Great British Bake Off could be about to move from Channel 4 to ITV.
The long-running TV baking show first aired on the BBC back in 2010, before making the switch to Channel 4 in 2017 - but the Bake Off could now be about to move once again following the merger between ITV and Sky.
A TV insider told The Sun newspaper: "The whole industry is talking about Bake Off moving yet again, which would be a tremendous coup for ITV but bad news for C4 as it is their most-watched show."
Under the terms of the merger agreement, ITV Studios will receive Sky’s Love Productions, which is the creator of The Great British Bake Off.
Channel 4 struck a deal with Love Productions in 2025. However, it's not clear when that agreement expires.
It was recently confirmed that ITV is set to sell its media and entertainment divisions to Sky for £1.6 billion.
Sky chief executive Dana Strong called the move "a defining moment for British media" as they seek to create a rival to global streaming platforms, such as Netflix and Amazon.
Sky said in a statement: "The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK."
The deal represents one of the biggest takeovers in British media history, but there are no plans to make major changes to popular TV shows, such as Coronation Street, This Morning, and Love Island, in the immediate future.
Sky explained: "Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events."
Once the deal is finalised, ITV Studios will become a standalone business, while Sky - which is owned by the American broadcasting giant Comcast - has committed to spending £2.1 billion on content from ITV Studios over five years.
