The Football League today lost their High Court case against Carlton and Granada’s collapsed ITV Digital venture over £178.5 million owed from a three-year broadcasting deal.
ITV Digital, formerly known as ONDigital, went into liquidation in April when it announced that it could not fully honour the £315 million contract. A number of league clubs have since gone into administration and many others are in financial difficulty.
The league sued Carlton and Granada, claiming that they had an obligation to guarantee payments to the clubs (see Carlton And Granada To Defend Football League Attacks). However after a four-day hearing, Mr Justice Langley has decided in favour of the television companies, ruling that no such assurances were in place.
In a joint statement to the London Stock Exchange, the two companies expressed their satisfaction with the judgement.
“Carlton Communications Plc and Granada plc welcome the judgement given today in the High Court declaring that neither Carlton nor Granada have any liability whatsoever to The Football League Limited in connection with the broadcast rights contract between The Football League and ONdigital.”
At 3pm today, shares in Carlton and Granada were down slightly at 179½p and 94½p respectively.
