The two ITV companies have told the league that the service faces closure if it does not accept a radical cut in the amount ITV Digital pays to broadcast Football League games on its subscription channel ITV Sport.
The Football League has said the damages it will seek will go far beyond the full £178m deal that the league wants honoured if Carlton and Granada close ITV Digital.
Keith Harris, chairman of the Football League, told the Sunday Express: "The damages would go far beyond the loss of this contract, as there is also a threat to individual club sponsorship deals and industry-wide sponsorship."
Reports have suggested that the two ITV companies could close ITV Digital as soon as next week, leaving the future of many of the league's smaller clubs in doubt, as well as leaving 1.5m households without a digital TV service.
The original deal with the league was worth £315m, now being seen as far too expensive by ITV Digital. ITV Sport has fewer than 150,000 subscribers, due in part to its lack of carriage deal with BSkyB.
So far, ITV Digital has paid £137m on the deal, with £178m left to pay. Carlton and Granada have offered to pay £50m of the remaining money, which has been rejected by the Football League.
However, there is still some hope that a compromise can be reached between the two and the service, which has lost £800m since its launch four years ago, can be kept going.
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