Football League fail to recoup its TV millions

The High Court has today ruled ITV Digital's owners, Carlton and Granada, were under no legal obligation to honour their collapsed subsidiary's debts to the Football League - £131.9m in unpaid broadcast fees. Justice Gordon Langley said: "neither company is liable to the football league for any sum due or damages payable for breach of the June contract made between the League and ITV Digital.” The decision followed a three-day hearing earlier this month during which Carlton and Granada rejected liability, arguing that they did not provide any written guarantees to meet ITV Digital's financial obligations. The League argued the two broadcast giants had guaranteed ITV Digital's initial bid for the rights to screen its games, and that when the final deal went through there was an understanding that Carlton and Granada would continue to support their pay TV subsidiary financially. Even though BSkyB picked up the remaining two years of ITV Digital's contract they did so at a knock-down price of £95m, leaving the League with a dire cash shortage. League bosses claim the verdict could force some of the 72 lower division football clubs into insolvency. There is now speculation that the League will sue the law firm that helped it draw up the original contract with ITV Digital.