The decision to place a football highlights show during Saturday peak-time viewing hours was considered a big risk for the broadcaster.
It has proved to be an expensive one, at a time when ITV is losing market share and advertising revenues as a result of the global downturn and increased competition for the mass-market audience from the BBC.
The broadcaster is expected to fill the Saturday evening slot with ratings juggernaut Blind Date, which can pull as many as 8m viewers. The show had been expected to air next year but is being brought forward after advertisers complained that they were not getting value for money.
ITV director of channels David Liddiment said, "I had hoped to give the programme more time to consolidate in the 7pm slot, but pressure on the overall performance of the schedule and advertising revenues means that we simply can not sustain the current position."
ITV spent £183m acquiring the rights to the highlights of Premier League football games. They were previously held by the BBC, which broadcast them on its long-running Match of the Day show.
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