ITV Sport faces closure if &pound;315m <BR>football deal is not renegotiated

LONDON - An internal ITV review has warned that ITV Sport faces closure unless it renegotiates its three-year £315m contract with the Nationwide football league.

ITV can not afford the cost of the contract, which gives it the rights to cover matches of England's 72 non-Premiership football clubs, under the current terms.



ITV Sport has been seen as a key part of the ITV Digital offering, but it has failed to perform as well as expected. Last month, ITV Digital reported its subscriber base had reached the 1.2m mark, but ITV Sport attracted only 138,000 ITV Digital subscribers.



According to reports in the Financial Times, Carlton and Granada, the joint owners of the channel, are considering other options as ways of increasing revenues.



Carlton and Granada are believed to be in a strong position to renegotiate the contract, as the Nationwide League's only alternative to ITV Sport is Sky, which has the rights to Premier League matches.



According to reports, the league might agree to spreading the contract over five years instead of three. However, the FT says that the league would strongly oppose any attempt to reduce the financial value of the deal.



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