Comcasts European pay-TV business Sky is in talks to acquire U.K. TV giant ITVs media and entertainment (ME) unit.

In a statement early Friday morning London time, ITV said itis in preliminary discussionsregardingapossiblesaleofitsEbusiness to Skyfor an enterprise value of 1.6 billion, which translates to $2.1 billion.

The ME business includes ITVs commercial free-to-air TV channels in the U.K., as well as its ITVX streaming platform. Not part of a deal would be production powerhouse ITV Studios, which produces such shows as Love Island, Britains Got Talent, and the Harlan Coben Netflix hit series Fool Me Once, among many others. ITV Studios has been the topic of much deal chatter in recent years, with the likes of Banijay, All3Media parent RedBird IMI, and others being cited as potential buyers.

Sky is led by CEO Dana Strong. It not only operates pay-TV and streaming businesses in the U.K., Ireland and Italy, but has also been growing its telecom offerings, such as broadband and mobile phone operations. Sky also owns the production arm Sky Studios, which has been growing its investment in original content creation.

However, ITV on Friday also emphasized that a transaction for its ME division with Comcasts Sky may not come together. There can be no certainty as to the terms upon which anypotential salemay be agreed or whether any transaction will take place, its statement highlighted. A further announcement will be madein due courseifappropriate.

lTV is led by CEO Carolyn McCall. The news of the deal talks came after ITV said on Thursday that it was planning $46 million in temporary, or one-off, cost savings amid softer advertising demand in the fourth quarter.