League damages case against Carlton and Granada strengthened by court disclosures

LONDON – The Football League has said the release of confidential ITV Digital documents, following a High Court appearance yesterday, has strengthened its case for damages against Carlton Communications and Granada.

The league has been threatening to sue the ITV Digital shareholders for some weeks for as much as £500m, unless they both paid in full the £178m the league is owed by the digital TV service.

The documents were disclosed after a hearing before Mr Justice Jacob. Deloitte & Touche, ITV Digital's administrators, handed the league all but a small share of the papers so far withheld. It is thought the papers could reveal the true extent of the broadcaster's financial status.

David Burns, the Football League chief executive, said the papers supported any damages case that the league might want to make against Carlton and Granada if a settlement is not reached.

According to Burns: "We will now have a level playing field for all creditors rather than full information only being available to Carlton Communications and Granada."

The documents had previously been withheld by administrators Deloitte & Touche as they were deemed too commercially sensitive. They showed that Granada and Carlton are spending £20m to run ITV Digital until April 15.

Granada and Carlton have allocated £20m to keep ITV Digital afloat for at least two weeks until April 15. The administrators have now said that they had "no objection to the release of that information and recommended to the Court that it be released".

Burn said that: "They [Carlton and Granada] have used administration to put leverage on the Football League and it will not work. It should not be forgotten that Carlton Communications and Granada can and ought to pay the contract in full."

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.

While the Football League has so far refused a lower offer, 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.

"If Carlton and Granada wish to see a just and equitable resolution to this matter they really need to sit down with the Football League and talk. They have certain contractual obligations which must be met," Burns said.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .

Topics

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Market Reports.

Find out more

Enjoying ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s content?

 Get unlimited access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s premium content for your whole company with a corporate licence.

Upgrade access

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an alert now

Partner content