Last-ditch talks could yet save ITV Digital

In a surprise move, Carlton and Granada – co-owners of ITV Digital – have met with Football League chiefs for the first time since an administration order for the digital platform was granted on March 27.
A deal seemed increasingly unlikely an acrimony process was played out in front of the media. However, it has emerged that the Football League's chairman Keith Harris and chief executive David Burns met with Carlton chief executive Gerry Murphy and Granada chairman Charles Allen on Friday April 19.
Nick Dargan of Deloitte & Touche had stated at the outset of administration that he was not empowered to negotiate for the full amount of the contract. The last-ditch effort to break the deadlock by Mr Allen and Mr Murphy signals that everything is on the table.
The news follows reports that ITV Digital's administrators had been looking for potential buyers for the ailing company. In a worst case scenario, should no buyer be found and the company is liquidated, league chiefs have threatened a £500 million court action against Granada and Carlton. The prospect of a massive law suit and liquidation should help to re-invigorate negotiations.
Elsewhere, it had been reported that some prominent Granada and Carlton shareholders were advocating payment of the full contract as a resolution to the dispute. One shareholder said: "We want a line drawn under this. If it means paying the Football League what it is owed, so be it."
The Football League have been demanding that they be paid the full £178.5 remaining out of a £315 million, three-year contract. Granada and Carlton originally made a £50 million offer to the league, which the administrator subsequently upped to a £74 million payment over the next two years.
When that offer was rejected and withdrawn, analysts believed that the company was preparing itself for liquidation. As it stands, the £20 million operating fund ploughed into ITV Digital by the owners just prior to administration is expected to run out by Monday April 22.
The platform, which has drained about £850 million from Carlton and Granada's coffers, currently has 1.2 million subscribers.
ITV Digital, www.itv-digital.co.uk
(GMcG)