The programme, fronted by former BBC presenter Des Lynam, has been drawing just 4.4m viewers compared with ratings juggernaut Blind Date, which regularly pulls in 8m.
The Premiership is understood to have been given until November 17 to boost its rating figures or face being moved to a later slot at 10.10pm and replaced by the Cilla Black-fronted match-making show.
The scheduling mistake could prove an expensive one for ITV, which paid £183m to wrest the rights to the Premier League football matches for three years from the BBC.
Meanwhile, the government is drawing up tough new programming guidelines for the BBC amid fears that its schedule is becoming too downmarket and encroaching on ITV's audience share.
The government is said to be concerned that the corporation has been sidelining some of its public service programming from BBC1 to BBC2. The broadcaster has so far moved arts programme Omnibus to BBC2 and trimmed its religious programming. It has abandoned classics and period dramas such as Pride and Prejudice and moved Steven Spielberg's World War II drama Band of Brothers from BBC1.
The programming will be monitored by the BBC governors, who will in turn report to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. If the BBC fails to meet the standards, it could face a cut in its licence fee and amendments to its Royal Charter, which is due for renewal in 2005.
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