SA
savagegardenkid
Just noticed this on the Guardian website.
ITV Sport's ratings have swung dramatically since it launched in August.
Some of its Champion League matches have proved a huge draw for fans with 185,000 viewers tuning into a crunch tie between Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.
But lesser teams have left the channel, which has attracted more than 200,000 subscribers, with almost no viewers.
One match with Scottish team Celtic and Portuguese team Porto mustered a peak audience of just 3,000 viewers.
And in September a First Division match between Nottingham Forrest and Bradford City - one of the clubs pushing for the new 'Phoenix League' - attracted only 1,000 viewers.
A deal with BSkyB is crucial to the channel's growth.
ITV huffs and puffs about continued reports that it won't pay the remaining ?84m outstanding on its Nationwide League and Worthington Cup deals.
But insiders are willing to admit that the financial viability of the channel is at stake if it doesn't get on the BSkyB network.
Around 2m homes watched the Nationwide games when they were carried by Sky.
It is this audience ITV is desperate to reach.
However BSkyB, which will market the channel to its 5m homes, inevitably wants a cut of subscription revenues and is holding out to drive a better deal.
Is this the end? This forum member certainly thinks so.
Rob.
ITV Sport's ratings have swung dramatically since it launched in August.
Some of its Champion League matches have proved a huge draw for fans with 185,000 viewers tuning into a crunch tie between Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.
But lesser teams have left the channel, which has attracted more than 200,000 subscribers, with almost no viewers.
One match with Scottish team Celtic and Portuguese team Porto mustered a peak audience of just 3,000 viewers.
And in September a First Division match between Nottingham Forrest and Bradford City - one of the clubs pushing for the new 'Phoenix League' - attracted only 1,000 viewers.
A deal with BSkyB is crucial to the channel's growth.
ITV huffs and puffs about continued reports that it won't pay the remaining ?84m outstanding on its Nationwide League and Worthington Cup deals.
But insiders are willing to admit that the financial viability of the channel is at stake if it doesn't get on the BSkyB network.
Around 2m homes watched the Nationwide games when they were carried by Sky.
It is this audience ITV is desperate to reach.
However BSkyB, which will market the channel to its 5m homes, inevitably wants a cut of subscription revenues and is holding out to drive a better deal.
Is this the end? This forum member certainly thinks so.
Rob.