Three big problems with ITV’s talks to sell television business to Sky: price, politics and regulation | Nils Pratley

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Do a sum-of-the-parts analysis on ITV, City analysts have been saying for years, and you can come up with valuations way above the depressed share price.It’s just a question of someone making a decent offer for one of the two halves of the corporate entity – either ITV Studios, the production side that makes programmes such as Coronation Street, or the division that actually broadcasts the content and sells the advertising slots.Now someone has turned up: Sky, which was bought by the US giant Comcast for £30bn in 2018, has made a £1.6bn approach for the broadcasting operation.ITV’s share price gained 16% on Friday but, at 78p, it still stands way below some of the misty-eyed theoretical valuations.

Why?There’s the obvious fact that nothing is agreed yet,But there are three more basic factors,First, a £1,6bn price tag doesn’t look much for a broadcast division that, despite intensifying competition from Netflix, Disney, YouTube and others, still made topline operating profits of £250m last year,The Studios operation is undoubtedly the growing and more valuable part of ITV.

But is £1,6bn really the most the broadcasting unit could fetch?Second, the competition regulator – even when under orders from government to be “pro-growth” – will have a field day with a deal that would put the UK’s dominant free-to-air commercial broadcaster under the same corporate roof as the leading payTV outfit in the UK,Third, the pure politics of US ownership,There’s little point playing up Sky’s UK origins and pushing the notion that a deal would be the birth of new UK champion,Sky’s identity is becoming harder to spot under Comcast’s ownership: its financial performance isn’t even separated within the US parent’s accounts.

On price, nobody doubts ITV is operating in a tough market,Aside from the intense competition for eyeballs, advertising income is tied to the health of the UK economy,Total advertising revenues are expected to fall 6% this year, ITV said this week,On the other hand, the broadcasting division has defied for a decade gloomy predictions that revenues will fall off a cliff,Old-fashioned linear TV remains the only way for advertisers to reach a mass broadcast audience, a point ITV usually likes to champion itself.

Big sporting events – think World Cups in football and rugby – still produce enormous live audiences,In principle, an operation still regularly achieving 10% operating margins ought to fetch at least the value of its annual revenues of £2bn-ish,Regulatory and political hurdles look immense,ITV and Sky/Comcast can argue that the media world is transformed from a generation ago, when it was deemed unacceptable for the satellite broadcaster, then under the control of the Murdoch family, to own a significant share in ITV,Up to a point, that’s true: the game is different.

Google and Facebook now soak up huge quantities of UK advertisers’ pounds, so one can have some sympathy with the argument that a UK commercial broadcaster can’t ignore international consolidation.Yet ITV still bestrides the TV-only part of the UK advertising market and a combo with Sky would only increase that dominance.Then there’s the potential threat to media plurality.Comcast’s 10-year commitment to loss-making Sky News, made at the time of the takeover, expires in 2028.Would it sustain the operation if it is also running ITV’s news service?Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionHow about ITV’s regional roots, still (just about) identifiable? A new owner would have the same public service obligations, covering original UK content, including from outside London.

But, one can speculate, the requirements are easier to enforce when the ultimate bosses are sitting in Shepherd’s Bush, as opposed to running a $100bn (£76bn) media empire out of Philadelphia.ITV, for all the expansion of the Studios side into making programmes globally, remains part of the British cultural landscape.None of which is to dispute chief executive Carolyn McCall’s instinct to seek a deal.In her eight years at the helm, she has cut costs, expanded Studios, launched the ITVX streaming service and is seen as getting the big calls correct.But the share price remains becalmed and a deal of some sort is seen as the way to shift the valuation dial.

It’s just not obvious that Sky/Comcast is the right one.
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How to turn the dregs of a tin of golden syrup into a delectable toffee sauce – recipe | Waste not

Lyle’s golden syrup comes in the most ornate and nostalgic of tins, but the syrup inside often proves almost impossible to extract entirely. Turn what might otherwise be wasted into this luxurious toffee sauce to savour on Bonfire Night, especially when drizzled generously over cinnamon baked apples with scoops of vanilla ice-cream.Apples transform beautifully when baked, turning this hyper-seasonal fruit into a super-simple yet decadent dessert. I prefer cox or braeburn varieties (ie, something not too large), so you can serve one apple per person.Gordon Ramsay’s recipes are my go-to for traditional techniques that deliver reliable results

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Mirepoix kimchi and vegetarian umami chilli: Kenji Morimoto’s recipes for cooking with homemade ferments

Cooking with ferments brings a tremendous amount of flavour to whatever you’re making, and it’s a great way to showcase how an ingredient evolves through the application of heat. The idea of combining a Korean preservation method with a French technique is exactly what I love about creativity in the kitchen. This mirepoix kimchi is not just a fun ferment to dot on savoury oatmeal or eat alongside cheese, but it also acts as the backbone for a plant-based, umami-filled chilli.This versatile, umami-rich paste is a twist on the classic mirepoix and can be used to add a hit of flavour to everything from soups to marinades, or even enjoyed as is.Prep 10 min Ferment 2 weeks+ Makes 500ml jar150g carrot 150g white onion 150g celery 13½g salt (or 3% of the total weight of the first three ingredients)½ tbsp red miso, or fish sauce½ tbsp sugar 15g gochugaru chilli flakesRoughly chop the vegetables (there is no need to peel the carrots if they have been rinsed), then put them in a food processor

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The many uses of leftover chutney, from breakfast to soups and glazes | Kitchen aide

Every Christmas I’m given chutney, and I still have four barely used jars. What to do with them before the next lot arrive? Christine, OxfordThis sounds like a job for Claire Dinhut, author of The Condiment Book, who also goes by the moniker Condiment Claire. She would approach this meal by meal, starting with breakfast. “It might not seem so obvious,” she says, “but I put Branston pickle on my avocado toast. If you think about it, you often add acidity, which is usually lemon, but chutney is punchy and has that same tang, as well as a bit of texture

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Divine dining: Australian church restaurants claim their own devout followings

At these places of worship, secular and churchgoing diners place their orders for coffee, curry puffs and za’atar pastries, served with kindnessGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailOn Sunday mornings, thousands stream through Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral, a Lebanese Maronite Catholic church in Sydney’s western suburbs. In between back-to-back mass services, worshippers rush to its onsite cafe, Five Loaves.“Sunday is our busiest day,” says Yasmin Salim, who has fronted the counter for eight years. Lines are long and diners’ appetites are large: a single customer might ask for 10 pizzas and 10 pastries flavoured with za’atar, the Middle Eastern herb mix. “It’s like at Maccas, everyone wants their french fries,” says Salim

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How to make rotis – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

These staple north Indian flatbreads come in a variety of forms – thinner, softer versions cooked on a flat tawa are also known as chapatis, while phulkas employ the same dough, but are held over a flame until they puff like a balloon. Either way, they’re great for scooping up meat and vegetables, or for mopping up sauce. Years of practice makes perfect, but this recipe is a good place to start.Prep 25 min Rest 30 min Cook 15 min Makes 8165g atta (chapati) flour, plus extra for dusting (see step 1)¼ tsp fine salt 1 tsp neutral oil Melted ghee or butter, to serve (optional)If you can’t find atta flour, which is a flavourful, very finely milled wholemeal flour that can be found in south Asian specialists and larger supermarkets, food writer Roopa Gulati recommends using a 50:50 mixture of plain flour and wholemeal flour instead. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, whisk briefly, then make a well in the middle

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Pancakes, cheesecakes, dips, breads, mousses and … ice-cream? 17 mostly delicious ways with cottage cheese

High in protein, low in fat, the 70s ‘superfood’ is having another moment. Its fans say you can do almost anything with it. But should you?When I heard that cottage cheese was experiencing some kind of renaissance, my first thought was: “This is what comes of complacency.” I’d thought of cottage cheese as being safely extinct, but per capita consumption statistics show that, while it fell slightly out of favour, it never really went away. And now it’s having a moment