Pubs hit as ITV Digital is turned off

ITV Digital has been switched off - leaving thousands of publicans without the channel.

Administrator Deloitte & Touche turned off the channel after it failed to find a buyer and decided it would be better to break up the company and sell off the pieces.

All the pay-to-view channels, including MTV - which many pubs show - have now been switched off. Free channels, such as BBC1, BBC2, BBC News 24, ITV1 and ITV2, and Channels 4 and 5 will continue in the short term.

ITV Sport, the reason many pubs subscribed to ITV Digital when it launched its commercial package less than a year ago, has been changed to a free channel for the time being.

That decision means pubs will still be able to screen the popular end-of-season play-off matches.

Even if the plug is eventually pulled on ITV Sport, subscribers have been told the play-offs will be shown on ITV1 or ITV2. The Champions League final, which is also likely to attract many football fans to pubs, will now be shown on ITV1.

Subscribers who pay monthly, which includes most licensees, should simply stop paying for the service now the channel has been switched off, but those who pre-paid are unlikely to receive any refund.

A statement from the administrator said it would be contacting subscribers soon to explain the situation.

ITV Digital's commercial package was welcomed by licensees as competition for Sky when it launched last summer. But publicans soon discovered they had to subscribe to both simply to avoid losing trade.

The channel was put into administration last month after it admitted it could not afford to pay the £189m it owed the Football League for the rights to show matches.

Related stories:​

Licensees' service worries if buyer is not found for ITV Digital (25 April 2002)

Decision day approaches for ITV Digital subscribers (19 April 2002)

Future of troubled ITV Digital under discussion (16 April 2002)

Government reassures licensees of ITV Digital's continued services (4 April 2002)