TV Home Forum

ITV Sport facing possible closure

(November 2001)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MR
MR GRAPHICS
ITV Sport is facing closure unless it can renegotiate the term of its £315 million broadcast contract with the Football League, it was revealed today, writes Dominic Timms.

The channel, which bought the rights to broadcast matches from the non-Premiership Nationwide League clubs last year, has conducted an internal review which has determined that it cannot afford to honour the three year contract under its existing terms.

Investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston estimates the channel needs 2.4 million subscribers to become cash-flow positive. ITV Sport currently has just 138,000 subscribers and would need to invest around £130 million for the next five years.

The channel has already paid £165 million to Nationwide football clubs, but ITV Sport shareholders Carlton and Granada are examining options to renegotiate the contract in addition to looking at distribution options for the channel.

A senior ITV Sport source, quoted in a report in today's Financial Times, said the channel 'will not see out the life of the current contract as it is currently negotiated.'

The Football League, which last week denied that it had been approached by ITV Sport with a view to renegotiating the deal, is thought to be determined not to allow a reduction in its real value.

However it may be left with little option if Carlton and Granada decide to let the channel fold. 'If the Football League won't renegotiate, the only way out of the contract would be for ITV Sport to go bankrupt.' Oliver & Ohlbaum media analyst Mark Oliver told the paper.

But any decision to pull out of the contract is likely to cost ITV Sport dear as the channel would almost certainly have to pay compensation to the Nationwide football clubs.
JA
Jason
Stupid Carlton and Granada. The way they are neglecting their core moneyspinner (ITV1) and wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on foolish ventures that can't even last a couple of months without staring bankruptcy in the face, beggars belief.

Good god, TVS had better business sense than this shower Shocked
RY
ryan
The ITV Sports channel wasn't all that...it was so bad IMO.

And BTW Jason, what is TVS?
JA
Jason
TVS=Television South, franchise holder for the South and South East of England between 1982-92, which almost bankrupted itself after buying MTM Television in the US, and lost it's franchise largely due to it's financial instability.
WH
Whataday Founding member
It's annoying, because when you search for TVS, you get electrical websites, thinking you are searching for TVs!
RY
ryan
Whataday posted:
It's annoying, because when you search for TVS, you get electrical  websites, thinking you are searching for TVs!


Aren't search engines thick eh?! Razz:

Thanks for that Jason, I'm more clear now on TVS.

Newer posts