UK’s ITV sells BritBox International stake to BBC Studios

(Reuters) -British broadcaster ITV has sold its 50% stake in streaming service BritBox International to its joint venture partner BBC Studios for 255 million pounds ($322 million), it said on Friday.

The sale will allow ITV to focus on “supercharging” its British ad-funded streaming service ITVX and growing its global Studios division, it said, adding that it would return proceeds to shareholders via a stock buyback.

Shares in ITV, which will report full-year results on Thursday, were trading up 14% at 63.5 pence, the highest level since mid-January.

Analysts at Citi said the sale made strategic sense as the international streaming was not core, and said using the proceeds to buy back shares would be well-received.

ITV, Britain’s biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, is investing heavily in its ad-funded streaming platform ITVX, to counter long-term declines in linear viewing and to allow advertisers to better target audiences.

BBC Studios Chief Executive Tom Fussell said BritBox International had British content at its heart and it generated and satisfied demand for British shows outside the UK.

“We will continue to make significant investments in the future to deliver long-term value to the BBC,” he said.

ITV Studios will continue to receive a revenue stream from BritBox International for ITV content under new extended licensing agreements, ITV said.

BritBox UK is unaffected by the sale and will still feature BBC content as part of separate long-term agreements, ITV added.

($1 = 0.7917 pounds)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Hugh Lawson)