Editing ITV Digital (section)

===Administration===
On 27 March 2002, ITV Digital was placed in [[administration (law)|administration]] as it was unable to pay the full amount due to the Football League.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1896732.stm|title=ITV Digital goes broke|date=27 March 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref> Later, as chances of its survival remained bleak, the Football League sued Carlton and Granada, claiming that the firms had breached their contract in failing to deliver the guaranteed income. On 1 August the league lost the case, with the judge ruling that it had "failed to extract sufficient written guarantees".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2165700.stm|title=League loses football cash battle|date=1 August 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref> The league then filed a negligence claim against its own lawyers for failing to press for a written guarantee at the time of the deal with ITV Digital. From this, in June 2006, it was awarded a paltry £4 in damages of the £150m it was seeking.<ref>{{cite news
    | url       = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5109254.stm
    | title     = Football League loses damages bid
    | date      = 23 June 2006
    | work = BBC News
}}</ref> The collapse put in doubt the government's ambition to switch off analogue terrestrial TV signals by 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/mar/28/broadcasting.itvdigital1|title=ITV Digital staggers towards collapse|first1=John|last1=Cassy|first2=Matt|last2=Wells|date=28 March 2002|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

Despite several interested parties, the administrators were unable to find a buyer for the company and effectively put it into [[liquidation]] on 26 April 2002.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2760880/ITV-Digital-faces-closure-within-days.html|title=ITV Digital faces closure 'within days'|first=George |last=Trefgarne |date=25 April 2002|work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> Most subscription channels stopped broadcasting on ITV Digital on 1 May 2002 at 7 am, with only free-to-air services continuing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/05/01/itv_digital_rip/|title=ITV Digital RIP|website=[[The Register]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1961209.stm|title=Race to find digital broadcaster|date=1 May 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref> The next day, ITV chief executive [[Stuart Prebble]] quit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1963455.stm|title=Top man at ITV quits|date=2 May 2002|work=BBC News}}</ref> In all, 1,500 jobs were lost by ITV Digital's collapse.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/media-leisure/bskyb-needs-150-000-itv-customers-to-recoup-163-70m-1-950236 |title=BSkyB needs 150,000 ITV customers to recoup £70m}}</ref> ITV Digital was eventually placed into liquidation on 18 October, with debts of £1.25 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gibson|first=Owen|date=2003-01-21|title=ITV bosses box clever over set-top giveaway|url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jan/21/broadcasting.itvdigital|access-date=2020-09-29|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>