Sky, ITV and Channel 4 partner on self-serve TV ad marketplace powered by Universal Ads platform

Sky, Channel 4 and ITV have announced their intent to launch a joint premium video advertising marketplace, enabling small and medium-sized businesses to run a single campaign across the three broadcasters for the first time.

The planned platform, scheduled to launch in 2026, aims to simplify the purchase of addressable advertising on premium on-demand and streaming content. It will use Comcast Advertising’s Universal Ads platform and FreeWheel technology, which debuted earlier this year in the United States.

The marketplace will combine inventory from Channel 4 Sales, ITV Media and Sky Media, offering biddable pricing and campaign tools through a self-serve interface. According to the announcement, the platform is designed to accommodate advertisers who are accustomed to buying media through digital channels.

Key features will include a unified buying interface, cross-platform campaign measurement, performance analytics and standardized reporting. The marketplace is intended to offer transparency, simplified access and consistent quality across broadcaster inventory.

The three companies also said they are exploring a joint solution for media agencies, which may leverage ITV’s existing Planet V platform.

Priya Dogra, chief advertising, group data and new revenue officer at Sky, said the collaboration reflects a need for “collaboration, simplification, and innovation” in the changing media environment.

ITV’s commercial managing director, Kelly Williams, noted the goal of making television easier to plan, buy and measure for both existing and new advertisers. Rak Patel, chief commercial officer at Channel 4, highlighted the collaboration as a step toward delivering a unified premium video platform.

Thomas Bremond, managing director of Comcast Advertising International, said the new offering aims to provide “greater efficiency and effectiveness to TV advertising.”

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The announcement builds on a history of collaboration between UK broadcasters and marks a significant development in making television advertising more accessible to digital-first and smaller-scale advertisers.