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ITV Digital administrator Deloitte & Touche said in a statement that the failure to agree any deal with the Football League has hampered hopes of saving the company.

The statement from the administrator said: "It is now apparent that this has dissuaded some other suppliers from seriously engaging in restructuring discussions. The shareholders are re-evaluating the business plan and therefore no formal offer has been made to the Football League. Discussions with all suppliers will continue. As indicated on April 15, while we seek to establish whether the company can be preserved, we are also preparing the business for sale."

The 72 clubs of the Football League are meeting in Manchester today to try and resolve the dispute surrounding the £178m it is owed by ITV Digital.

ITV Digital is now expected to go into liquidation on Friday if its latest offer of £74m to the league is not accepted. However, the latest reports suggest that the league may consider an offer of £100m, but nothing short of that.

Both the BBC and Channel 5 are waiting in the wings to make an offer to the league for the rights to its matches. However, any offer will likely come in well below what it is owed by ITV Digital.

The now imminent closure also brings closer the prospect of a lengthy legal battle. ITV Digital owners, Carlton Communications and Granada, have already been threatened with a £500m court action by the Football League if they go ahead and pull the plug on the digital TV service.

Yesterday, Carlton and Granada were urged by MPs to honour the £315m football rights deal following a meeting on Tuesday between Football League chairman Keith Harris and chief executive David Burns and the all-party football group of MPs.

The league's presentation to ministers is thought to have focused on the fact that Carlton and Granada receive massive tax rebates for running ITV Digital -- the UK's only digital terrestrial broadcaster -- and the only competition to BSkyB's satellite offering.

Alan Keen, chairman of the all-party group, said it was Carlton and Granada's moral obligation to settle ITV Digital's outstanding £178m for the remaining two years of the deal.

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