In today’s Digest, we discuss Sky agreeing to ITV Broadcast Acquisition, a study finding that YouTube creator content is shaping AI assistant answers, and Carat being named Media Network of the Year amid the industry’s AI-driven shift

Sky Agrees ITV Broadcast Acquisition

Sky has reportedly agreed terms to acquire ITV’s Media & Entertainment division in a deal valued at approximately £1.6bn. The proposed transaction would see Sky take ownership of ITV’s broadcast channels and the ITVX streaming platform, while ITV Studios would be separated into an independent production business. The overall valuation includes an earn-out of around £200m tied to the future performance of the Media & Entertainment division.

As part of the agreement, ITV Studios is expected to acquire Love Productions from Sky in a deal reportedly worth between £80m and £120m.

YouTube creators win AI search game 

New research from digital marketing agency Jellyfish suggests that YouTube creator content is increasingly surfacing in responses generated by AI assistants, appearing in more than 25% of prompts analysed. In high-intent categories such as consumer electronics and financial services, that figure rises to nearly one in two responses, highlighting the growing influence of creator-led video content in AI-driven discovery.

The study, which examined 27 million responses across major AI assistants including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Perplexity, found that independent and niche creators often outrank both brand-owned channels and celebrity influencers in AI-generated recommendations. In the consumer packaged goods (CPG) category alone, over one million unique YouTube videos are cited daily by AI systems in the US, underscoring how creator ecosystems are becoming a core input into AI-mediated information and purchase journeys.

Carat wins Media Network of the year 

Carat has been named Media Network of the Year at the Cannes Lions, securing three Gold Lions, one Silver Lion and two Bronze Lions for its work across multiple campaigns. The recognition reflects a strong year for the network, which retained major accounts such as Heineken and secured Netflix across Europe, even as it lost its Microsoft media business to Publicis Groupe.

Will Swayne, global practice president at Dentsu, attributed the win to Carat’s integration of creativity, data and technology, describing it as validation of the network’s positioning in a rapidly changing industry shaped by AI, algorithms and fragmented attention.