Editing ITV Digital (section)

===Downfall===
The service reached 1 million subscribers by January 2001, whereas Sky Digital had 5.7 million. Granada reported £69 million in losses in the first six months of 2001, leading some investors to urge it to close or sell ONdigital/ITV Digital.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1409758.stm|title=Granada urged to ditch ONdigital|date=27 June 2001|work=BBC News}}</ref> ITV Digital was unable to make a deal to put the ITV Sport Channel on Sky, which could have given the channel access to millions of Sky customers and generated income; the channel was only licensed to cable company [[NTL Incorporated|NTL]]. Subscriptions for ONnet/ITV Active, its internet service, peaked at around 100,000 customers.<ref>Digital Terrestrial Television in Europe edited by Allan Brown, Robert G. Picard</ref> ITV Digital had a 12% share of digital subscribers as of December 2001.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1702272.stm|title=A cold climate for digital TV|date=11 December 2001|work=BBC News}}</ref> ITV Digital and Granada cut jobs that month.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1711919.stm|title=ITV Digital to cut 550 jobs|date=14 December 2001|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1815745.stm|title=Viewers desert ITV Digital|date=12 February 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref> By 2002, the company was thought to be losing up to £1 million per day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://citywire.co.uk/money/itv-digital-administrators-offered-extra-time/a236883|title=ITV Digital administrators offered extra time}}</ref>

In February 2002, Carlton and Granada said that ITV Digital needed an urgent "fundamental restructuring".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1843673.stm|title=ITV Digital in crisis, owners say|date=27 February 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref> The biggest cost the company faced was its three-year deal with the Football League,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1853678.stm|title=ITV Digital's flickering future|date=5 March 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1855280.stm|title=ITV Digital football contract 'binding'|date=5 March 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref> which had been deemed too expensive by critics when agreed, as it was inferior to the top-flight [[Premier League|Premiership]] coverage from [[Sky Sports]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/3020803/ITVs-expensive-miscalculation.html|title=ITV's expensive miscalculation|first=Paul|last=Fox|date=26 March 2002|work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> It was reported on 21 March 2002 that ITV Digital had proposed paying only £50 million for the remaining two years of the Football League deal, a reduction of £129m. Chiefs from the League said that any reduction in the payment could threaten the existence of many football clubs, which had budgeted for large incomes from the television contract.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1884853.stm|title=Football chiefs reject ITV deal|date=21 March 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref>