Sky set to pull plug on ITV Digital

SATELLITE TV firm BSkyB is poised to pull the plug on collapsed rival ITV Digital.

BSkyB, owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, is waiting to hear from ITV Digital's administrators whether it will be paid for content it has provided, including top football matches, BSkyB's chief operating officer Richard Freudenstein told a conference.

He said the satellite broadcaster would supply ITV Digital until the end of Tuesday, but after that the company's biggest programme provider may pull the plug. That may put ITV Digital in breach of its licence and hammer the value of its assets.

BSkyB has been supplying ITV Digital with free film and sport content. Sources close to ITV Digital said the firm may not have cash to see out this week.

The administrators have been in talks with ITV Digital's pay-TV suppliers, including BSkyB, UK-TV and MTV, to establish whether they are prepared to continue supplying channels during the sale of ITV Digital's assets.

The assets were put on sale last week after the administrators failed to find a buyer for the business or do a deal with its main creditor, the English Football League.

The move spelled the end for the world's first digital terrestrial pay-TV company, owned by Granada and Carlton Communications.

Faced with tough competition and high cancellation rates, ITV Digital went into administration last month. The firm has already laid off 150 staff.