Clawback fear over ITV Digital boxes

ONE million former ITV Digital subscribers could be forced to give up their set-top boxes under plans being drawn up by the administrator to the collapsed pay-TV operator.

Deloitte & Touche, appointed in March, is in 'advanced talks' to sell the boxes, according to sources close to the business. The move will anger subscribers, hundreds of thousands of whom are creditors of the company. They are unlikely to get back any money because they are last in the queue behind its big suppliers.

The biggest single creditor is ITV Digital Holdings, owned by Carlton and Granada, which is claiming £402 million.

It is not yet clear what a buyer would do with the boxes, which still allow subscribers to receive all free-to-air digital channels, including BBC4 and ITV2.

But removal of the boxes from subscribers' homes would be a blow to the new digital terrestrial service planned by the BBC-led consortium which this month won the licences formerly held by ITV Digital.

At a stroke it could lose one million existing digital terrestrial subscribers.

Most subscribers received the boxes free from ITV Digital, which gave them away in an ultimately ill-fated bid to attract new customers. However, the boxes remain the property of ITV Digital, despite its failure.

The Government, too, will be anxious about any deal. Removing the boxes would be a set-back to its aim of converting Britain to digital TV by 2010. Most observers think it is extremely unlikely to meet its target.

Meanwhile, after a meeting with the administrator last week, creditors estimate that they will be lucky to get back 1.5p from every £1 owed by ITV digital.