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ITV Digital owners urged to pay up Posted: Tuesday April 23, 2002 4:43 AMUpdated: Tuesday April 23, 2002 7:15 AM LONDON (Reuters) -- The English Football League renewed its call Tuesday for broadcasters Carlton and Granada to pay off the debts of their financially crippled venture, ITV Digital, and threatened to pursue its case through the courts. ITV Digital owes the league 178.5 million pounds (US$258.4 million) for the rights to broadcast matches involving clubs outside the elite Premier League -- a bill it says it cannot afford to pay. The clubs desperately need the TV money to pay their players' wages and media reports say that up to 30 of the 72 league clubs could go bust if the money is not paid. "It's not a question of holding out for anything or being intransigent ... Carlton and Granada can afford to pay the debt, they are just refusing to do so," the league's chief executive, David Burns, told BBC radio. Carlton and Granada said last week they would not put any more cash into loss-making ITV Digital, which has already cost them some 800 million pounds. ITV Digital had laid off 120 head office staff, according to media reports. No one from ITV Digital or the administrators was immediately available for comment on the job cuts. The Football League has threatened to sue ITV Digital and its owners for up to 500 million pounds. Burns said the league was confident of its case, but conceded a long drawn-out legal battle would hurt cash-strapped clubs. "If Carlton and Granada choose to indulge in a long and lengthy court process then that does put pressure on the football clubs," he said. The administrators to ITV Digital said Monday they were putting the business up for sale after failing to reach a deal with the league and were expected to brief regulator, the Independent Television Commission (ITC), later Tuesday. Burns showed more willingness to compromise with ITV Digital's new owners, should a buyer step forward. Asked if the league would negotiate over the price for broadcasting its soccer matches, he said: "Of course." Media analysts are forecasting, however, there will be little interest in buying the business, which is being abandoned by more subscribers every day. No cash for clubs -- government The British government said Tuesday it would not provide cash to rescue soccer clubs in financial trouble because of a crisis at ITV Digital. Tessa Jowell, the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, said government had a role to play in re-training and relocating players who may lose their jobs. But speaking at the Sportbusiness 2002 conference, Jowell said: "It is important to recognise that there has been no request to government for money. Football recognises that they have got to help the clubs navigate through this crisis. "My concern is that the losers will be the fans who will
feel very badly let down by this... The government is not in a
position to offer financial support. The Football League has not
asked for that."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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