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In a statement announcing the deal, Sky said the UK media market was undergoing "a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK".
Former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who owns shares in ITV, said the deal was "essential" for the survival of the broadcasters.
"If we don't see consolidation between domestic broadcasters, we won't have any in 20 years time and it's the same for all the European countries because of the competition from the streamers," he told the BBC's Today programme.
"It's a good deal for viewers because it sustains, will sustain, ITV's investment – as its obligations are as a public service broadcaster – in international news, national news, regional news and all the programmes that its viewers love", he said.
Sir Peter added that consolidating channels in the UK would put them in a better position to compete against global players, as the sheer size of the US media market gave its firms huge financial firepower.