Comcast’s Universal Ads Officially Launches in the UK with Channel 4, ITV & Sky
Today, Universal Ads, Comcast’s self-service advertising platform for the premium TV industry, has officially launched in the UK in partnership with Channel 4, ITV and Sky. The launch, first unveiled by the cohort at Cannes Lions 2025, marks a groundbreaking move for the UK advertising industry as well as a significant step in Universal Ads’ international expansion.
From today, for the first time, small and medium-sized enterprises can create, buy, and measure premium TV advertising campaigns across the three broadcasters' sales houses - ITV Media, Sky Media and Channel 4 Sales from a single interface, helping to reach millions of viewers while simplifying the buying process, improving efficiency and enhancing accessibility for new-to-TV advertisers.
The Universal Ads platform enables advertisers to go live in minutes through a few easy steps: select a budget, target the ideal customer, upload creative and launch. Designed to feel as familiar as buying on social, while delivering the brand safety and proven effectiveness that only broadcaster-quality TV can offer, it combines ease of use with the mass reach, cost-efficient impact and long-term brand building of TV, creating a platform built for the next generation of advertisers.
“This milestone represents the next phase of Universal Ads as we expand onto the global stage”, said David Shaw, Head of Global Expansion at Universal Ads. “Together with Channel 4, ITV and Sky, we’ve built a platform that changes how TV advertising works in the UK today, bringing an experience that feels as simple as social, while preserving everything that makes broadcaster TV trusted, effective and impactful.”
Rak Patel, Chief Commercial Officer at Channel 4, commented, “Lowering the barriers to premium media can be a gamechanger for smaller brands. Greater collaboration across broadcasters can simplify TV buys for advertisers, attract new categories and brands into TV, and help ensure premium TV remains innovative and competitive alongside global social and digital platforms.”
“This initiative proves that trusted, premium TV environments deliver real value for small-to-medium advertisers”, said Kelly Williams, Managing Director, Commercial at ITV. “Driving this kind of innovation is a major step forward. It allows broadcasters to make TV advertising more accessible, effective and future-proofed for the entire industry.”
Karen Eccles, Managing Director, Sky Media added: “Through Universal Ads, we are breaking down traditional barriers and making it easier than ever for a whole new wave of brands to harness the power of TV. This partnership is an opportunity to show that the quality and impact of broadcast TV is now truly accessible to everyone”.
Available to advertisers in the US for over a year, the Universal Ads platform has shown compelling results, demonstrating how broadcasters can work collectively to modernise how advertisers access TV while protecting the quality and effectiveness that define it.
The platform is designed for growth-focused brands, whether digital-native, DTC, or scaling beyond social, that have historically found TV out of reach, but it retains the performance depth and targeting sophistication that larger advertisers and agencies expect*. Built on an API-first foundation, Universal Ads offers the flexibility brands and technology partners need to integrate, customize, and scale. The result is a TV advertising ecosystem that works harder for everyone: more brands on screen, more choice and personalization for viewers, and more reach for advertisers.
This launch in particular represents a major development in television advertising, giving SMEs access to a powerful self-serve platform to strengthen their marketing efforts. It follows a year of close collaboration between Sky, Channel 4, ITV, and Comcast’s product, operations and commercial teams, during which Universal Ads and the broadcast partners tested, refined and enhanced the offering to create a market-ready solution built for the evolving needs of UK advertisers.
About Universal Ads
Universal Ads enables any brand, of any size, to seamlessly make and buy commercials across premium video reaching new qualified audiences at scale. Universal Ads combines premium and brand-safe video content directly from the most influential media companies with the ease and familiarity of social ad buying. It is your one-stop shop for high-quality video ads delivering unmatched scale. Universal Ads is a part of the Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter. For more information visit www.UniversalAds.com.
About Channel 4
Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.
The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For more than 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people.
Working with hundreds of creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.
In 2024, Channel 4 launched its Fast Forward strategy to accelerate its transformation into an agile and genuinely digital-first public service streamer by 2030. It is designed to ensure Channel 4 embraces the generational shift in TV viewing, elevates its impact across the UK and stands out in a crowded market.
From its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is fully committed to harnessing the power of its regional structure to increase its impact across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions. 4Skills invests £10m in training, development and learning opportunities annually.
Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 43 Oscar wins and 97 BAFTA wins in its history. https://www.channel4.com
About ITV
ITV is an integrated producer broadcaster consisting of ITV Studios and Media & Entertainment. In Media & Entertainment, ITV commissions brilliant programmes. ITV makes them available to audiences through its family of channels, the biggest commercial network in the UK, and through ITVX, the ad-funded, free streaming home for ITV and new programme premieres.
ITV Studios is home to some of the best creative minds, crafting around 7,500 hours of original programming across 60 production labels. Our global footprint spans 13 countries including the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, The Nordics, Italy and the Netherlands and our global distribution business sells our catalogue of 95,000+ hours to broadcasters and platforms around the world.
About Sky
Sky connects and entertains millions of people across Europe. At the heart of everything we do, is a belief that people deserve better. For decades, we’ve shaken up every category we entered to give people what they love, to make life a little easier and to provide great value. That’s how we bring millions of customers the joy of a better experience in TV, broadband and mobile.
In TV, we offer the best sports coverage, unmissable TV and the smartest ways to stream and aggregate the TV you love. In broadband, we power homes and businesses, with a fast, reliable connection. In mobile, we bring people closer, with plans at unbeatable value. And now, you can even keep your home connected and protected, through our smart insurance. We design our products to fit seamlessly into your life, with service whenever and however you need it.
That’s how we do better for customers. And we believe in better for society too. We power the cultural economy in the UK and beyond, making award-winning news, original sport, and entertainment. We contribute billions to UK GDP, creating and sustaining thousands of jobs and sharing both our journalism and our coverage of the arts, free of charge. We are cutting emissions and making recyclable, energy-efficient products, and we give back, through free internet access and digital skills for under-served communities and young people.
Sky is owned by Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company.