Carlton and Granada have so far stood up to the league, saying that they are not liable for ITV Digital's failure to pay the outstanding £178m because they had never signed a long-form contract -- the part of the deal that outlines the responsibilities of Carlton and Granada as parent of ITV Digital.
The league has accused Carlton and Granada of deliberately avoiding signing the long-term contract, so that they could not be held responsible for ITV Digital's commitments.
Yesterday, at a meeting between the league and the chairmen of first division clubs in London, Football League chief executive David Burns said that the organisation had "reasonable belief" that Carlton and Granada had decided to close ITV Digital, and avoid paying the league its money, as early as October 2001.
Carlton and Granada have so far offered the league £50m for the remaining two years of the contract, a £130m reduction on the original contract.
The league, meanwhile, has said it will accept £89.5m in August and a further £89.5m in August 2003, as agreed in the original terms of the deal.
Neither side appears to be able nor willing to budge on the deal and the league has said it has been advised by its lawyers that a court hearing could be set before the next payment is due in August.
Yesterday, it was reported that Carlton and Granada would honour a £20m deal with the Premier League for the pay-per-view rights to Premiership matches, despite reneging on the deal with the Football League.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
