League Set To Sue Carlton And Granada
The Football League is to go ahead with plans to sue Carlton and Granada for £500m if they continue to refuse to honour the debts of the loss making pay-TV platform ITV Digital.
Carlton and Granada have so far refused to accept liability for ITV Digital’s failure to pay the outstanding £178m owed to the League on the grounds that they never signed a long-term contract.
The Football League has accused Carlton and Granada of deliberately avoiding signing the long-term contract, so that they could not be held responsible for ITV Digital’s commitments, and is set to commence legal proceedings against both companies for the amounts owed, plus damages and costs.
At a meeting held yesterday between the League and the chairmen of first division clubs, the Football League’s chairman, Keith Harris, said: “Carlton and Granada must not be allowed to renege on their commitments or cause irreparable damage to professional football clubs and their local communities. Our strategy will continue to be pursued remorselessly until we have achieved a satisfactory conclusion to this highly regrettable state of affairs.”
Carlton and Granada have so far offered the League £50m for the remaining two years of the £178m contract. However, the League has said it will only accept £89.25m due in August and a further £89.25m in August 2003, as agreed under the original terms of the deal. Neither side looks willing to budge and speculation suggests that a hearing could be set before the next payment is due in August.
The League also said that if ITV Digital, which went into administration last week (see
The decision to go ahead with legal action follows reports yesterday that Carlton and Granada are planning to honour a £20m deal with the Premier League for the pay-per-view rights to Premiership matches.
Football League: 0870 4420 1888 www.football-league.co.uk ITV Digital: 0808 100 0101 www.itv-digital.co.uk
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