The league is understood to be considering renegotiating the terms of the contract in an attempt to salvage as much of the outstanding amount as possible.
ITV Digital paid the league an initial £44m up front and a further £89m last year. Under the existing terms, it is due to pay £89m in August and a further £89m next year.
ITV Digital bought the rights hoping the league matches would do for ITV Sport what Premier League did for rival Sky, but it has turned out that the lower league matches are not nearly as popular. Some matches attracted only 1,000 viewers and failed to score ratings.
This lack of popularity has been compounded by the fact that ITV Digital has still failed to sign a carriage deal for the sports channel with Sky.
Any extra money the league can negotiate is likely to be shared out between some of the top division one teams, such as Manchester City and Birmingham City, which have expensive players' salaries to meet.
ITV Digital has appointed accountants Deloitte & Touche to help it sort out its finances. The company needs to find a further £300m to keep going until it breaks even in 2004. The football deal was one of its biggest financial drains, along with the £60m a year it has to pay BSkyB for its premium movie and sport channels.
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