ITV will report its latest quarterly trading figures on Wednesday as it faces formal investigations into the £1.6 billion deal to sell its media and entertainment arm to Sky.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy formally intervened in the deal on 4 November, triggering probes by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the media regulator Ofcom. Both regulators must report back to her on the impact of the deal on media plurality in the UK and free speech by 27 January 2027.

The intervention came after Nandy wrote to Sky and ITV on 15 October to say she was minded to intervene in the anticipated merger under the Enterprise Act 2002. Having considered representations from both companies, she decided to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice.

In her written statement to Parliament, Nandy said she had concerns that public interest considerations in the Act may be relevant to the merger and warrant further investigation. The CMA will report on jurisdictional and competition matters, while Ofcom will report on the media public interest considerations, including free expression of opinion in news media, a sufficient plurality of views in news media, and a sufficient plurality of people with control of media enterprises.

Nandy also decided to intervene on a further ground that is not currently specified in the Act: the need for a wide range of high-quality broadcasting and on-demand programmes across the United Kingdom. She said she will bring forward legislation to extend the existing public interest consideration on broadcasting so that it also applies to on-demand programmes, in line with modern viewing habits and her specific concerns about the tie-up.

ITV struck the deal in July to sell its media and entertainment division to Sky, in a move that would create a major competitor to the global streaming giants. The sale includes ITV's terrestrial television channels and its streaming service ITVX, but not its production arm, ITV Studios, which makes shows including I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here and dramas such as Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

The group's update on Wednesday will be looked to for signs of a pick-up in revenues and profits, after ITV said its performance would be weighted to the second half of the year because of the scheduling of shows and licensing deals.

But ITV cautioned in July that advertising revenues were set to fall by around 5% year on year in the third quarter because of difficult economic conditions. That followed a boost from the World Cup in July, which helped advertising revenues rise by 3% in the previous three months.

In its first half, ITV saw pre-tax profits increase by 16% to £78 million, while total group revenues rose 2% to £1.89 billion.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said ITV is hoping to change direction by selling its broadcast business and concentrating on television production, removing its reliance on advertising spend, which is heavily linked to the ups and downs of the economy. But he said Nandy's intervention has upset the applecart, and at the very least could delay the deal getting across the line.

He added that management will be expected to address concerns that the intervention might scupper its shift in strategy, and what it might do if the deal ends up being blocked.

Once the CMA and Ofcom have reported, Nandy will decide whether to refer the matter for a more detailed investigation by the CMA. She said she does not consider, on the evidence available to her, that her duty to issue a Foreign State Intervention Notice has arisen.