Tech
ITV Digital is to close in ten days time, according to an article in the Media Guardian.
It reports that lawyers are preparing to wind down the venture, which could face complete closure in as little as ten days time, pending feedback from Deloitte & Touche, the accountants who were appointed to review its cost base.
Another nail was added to the ITV Digital coffin yesterday when the Football League rejected an offer of £50m for the remaining three years of its contract; a cut of £130m. Rumours over the future of ITV's six-month old sports channel are now also in doubt. "There is now a very, very real threat of ITV Sport closing at the end of the football season, which is now only seven weeks away," a senior ITV Digital executive told BBC News Online. "We feel we have made a fair and realistic offer to the Football League which would be in the interests of all parties to accept."
A third of the League's 72 members could face bankruptcy if ITV Digital does not honour its contract, it claims.
"We are very reliant on this money - it is money that has been budgeted for," Rob Bradley, Lincoln City chairman, told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We have a new board at Lincoln paying off back tax and back debts and we are having a poor season. The supporters are disappointed but I tell them at least we have a football club. This, though, is the classic straw that could break the camel's back."
If ITV Digital folds, however, Carlton and Granada could effectively walk away without having to pay the contract. The League argues that the pair have a moral obligation to honour the deal, a view which could bear weight in court proceedings, several independent media lawyers have indicated.
Stick with Digital Spy for all of the latest developments in this story as it unfolds.
It reports that lawyers are preparing to wind down the venture, which could face complete closure in as little as ten days time, pending feedback from Deloitte & Touche, the accountants who were appointed to review its cost base.
Another nail was added to the ITV Digital coffin yesterday when the Football League rejected an offer of £50m for the remaining three years of its contract; a cut of £130m. Rumours over the future of ITV's six-month old sports channel are now also in doubt. "There is now a very, very real threat of ITV Sport closing at the end of the football season, which is now only seven weeks away," a senior ITV Digital executive told BBC News Online. "We feel we have made a fair and realistic offer to the Football League which would be in the interests of all parties to accept."
A third of the League's 72 members could face bankruptcy if ITV Digital does not honour its contract, it claims.
"We are very reliant on this money - it is money that has been budgeted for," Rob Bradley, Lincoln City chairman, told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We have a new board at Lincoln paying off back tax and back debts and we are having a poor season. The supporters are disappointed but I tell them at least we have a football club. This, though, is the classic straw that could break the camel's back."
If ITV Digital folds, however, Carlton and Granada could effectively walk away without having to pay the contract. The League argues that the pair have a moral obligation to honour the deal, a view which could bear weight in court proceedings, several independent media lawyers have indicated.
Stick with Digital Spy for all of the latest developments in this story as it unfolds.
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