The broadcaster's advertising agency Mother is seeking legal advice over the ownership of the character, which has been the mainstay of ITV Digital's ad campaign.
As Marketing went to press, administrators had closed pay-TV operations, its Pembroke call centre and had laid off 1,750 staff, leaving skeleton cover of 30 at its head office. Marketing director Jeremy Dale and ad director Alison Victory had lost their jobs along with the rest of the marketing and PR departments.
Administrator Deloitte & Touche will now try to maximise the value of existing assets and there has apparently been great interest in buying the Monkey icon, with Diamond White and Kwik Save among the brands keen to secure his services.
Chief administrator Nick Dargan is unwilling to divulge specific interest in Monkey, but is treating him as an ITV Digital asset. "ITV Digital owns the character," said a Deloitte & Touche spokeswoman.
However, Andy Medd, partner at Mother, said: "We want to assert our ownership and we're consulting our lawyers. We designed Monkey and it is interesting if ITV Digital is intending to sell him."
It is thought that Mother is also taking legal advice on unpaid fees from ITV Digital.
"We have made strenuous efforts initially to restructure the cost base and latterly to sell the business, but unfortunately there appears to be no appetite in the market to preserve it as a going concern," said the administrator.
Insiders at ITV Digital said that after Granada and Carlton lost their confidence in the strategic value of the channel, it was unlikely that another buyer would step in.
"The marketing department is proud of its work in rebranding ITV Digital and creating the advertising, but too many other factors weighed against us," Dale said.
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