ITV Digital Administrators Face Public Outcry
ITV Digital’s liquidators, Grant Thornton, have received a massive backlash from the pay station’s former customers after announcing they would be seeking the return or payment for the set top boxes (see ITV Digital Liquidators To Retrieve Set Top Boxes).
The move has sparked a lively debate amongst box owners and a fresh wave of bad publicity for ITV Digital’s major shareholders, Carlton and Granada. Suggestions on how to respond to the liquidators’ request have included sending the £39.99 fee to the Football League, one of the group’s numerous debtors. One former subscriber has come up with a more novel solution to the predicament, suggesting that customers return the box on the condition that they receive a “storage fee”.
While some analysts have jumped to the defence of the liquidators, claiming that it is their duty to attempt to collect the money on behalf of the debtors, others are more cynical. Grant Thornton has been accused of trying to make money from the huge, expensive and ultimately futile task of retrieving the boxes.
There has also been widespread questioning of the legality of the move, despite the fact that ITV Digital’s contracts made it explicit that the boxes were only on loan. Many customers have argued that by switching off the pay channels in March, ITV Digital effectively broke its contract with its subscribers and as one disgruntled customer argued; “Why should we pay for a box obtained through a broken contract?”
In a separate development, Freeview has moved to stamp out speculation that Grant Thornton’s move could substantially reduce their audience, claiming that their primary market are those who are yet to convert to digital TV.
Grant Thornton: 0870 991 2785 www.grant-thornton.co.uk
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