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{{Short description|British sport television channel}}
{{Infobox TV channel▼
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
| name = ITV Sport Channel ▼
| logofile = Itv sport channel logo2.png▼
|
| launch = {{start date and age|11 August 2001}}▼
|
| owner = [[Carlton Communications]] (50%) <br> [[Granada plc]] (50%) ▼
| closed_date = {{end date and age|11 May 2002}}
| availability note = at time of closure▼
|
| sister_channels = ITV Sport Plus<br />ITV Sport Select
| terr chan 1 = Channel 20▼
| replaced = ONsport 1<br />ONsport 2
| terr_serv_1 = [[ITV Digital]]
}} ▼
'''ITV Sport Channel''' was a short-lived [[Digital data|digital]] sport [[television]] channel, that was owned by [[Carlton Communications]] and [[Granada plc]]. It was launched on 11 August 2001 and closed on 12 May 2002, precipitating [[ITV Digital]]'s collapse over a month later.
The [[Matt Smith (broadcaster)|Matt Smith]], [[Tony Dorigo]], [[Russell Osman]], [[Bob Wilson (footballer, born 1941)|Bob Wilson]], [[John Hendrie (Scottish footballer)|John Hendrie]], [[Garry Nelson]], Guy Havord, [[Guy Mowbray]], [[Peter Drury]], [[Jon Champion]], [[David Fairclough]], [[Paul Walsh]], [[Jim Beglin]], [[Simon Hill]], [[Peter Stevenson]], Carrie Frais, [[Lisa Rogers]] and Dave Beckett presented and commentated for the channel.
==History==
===Champions Channel/ONsport===
The ITV Sport Channel can trace its foundations back to 1999 when the then named ONdigital service acquired exclusive rights to screen every match from the UEFA Champions League, to supplement ITV's existing coverage of the competition. Two channels to show the matches were set up, entitled '''Champions on
In June 2000, ONdigital successfully outbid BSkyB for the rights to show live matches from The Football League and the League Cup, for a massive £315m over three seasons, at least five times more than any broadcaster had previously bid for it. The launch of the ITV Sport Channel was announced in April 2001 and both ONsport 1 and ONsport 2 were closed down prior to its launch and the subsequent renaming of the ONdigital service to ITV Digital.
The channel was launched on 11 August 2001 with [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] v [[Watford F.C.|Watford]] in the [[Football League First Division|First Division]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Part Thirteen: "We've Got All the Football"|url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/oldott/www.offthetelly.co.uk/index2d19.html?page_id=552|work=offthetelly.co.uk|first=Steve|last=Williams|date=March 2008|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> as the game shown. The channel was also available on [[Virgin Media|NTL]] cable in addition to ITV Digital.<ref>{{Cite news|date=9 August 2001|title=ITV Sport's support is thin on the ground|work=Marketing Week|url=https://www.marketingweek.com/itv-sports-support-is-thin-on-the-ground/|access-date=6 May 2021}}</ref> However it did not broadcast on Sky<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/jan/16/ITV.broadcasting|title=ITV Digital's question of sport|last=Milmo|first=Dan|date=16 January 2002|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/jan/29/bskyb.broadcasting|title=ITV Sport 'wanted £80m for Sky carriage'|last=Deans|first=Jason|date=29 January 2002|work=The Guardian}}</ref> or on [[Telewest]].
Two spin-off channels titled called '''ITV Sport Plus''' and '''ITV Sport Select''' were also available as ITV Digital exclusives. ITV Sport Select showed the on-demand [[Premier League]] football matches from [[Sky Sports]] and ITV Sport Plus was available without charge to allow viewers to watch a match or sport event if there was a scheduling conflict.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wilkes|first=Neil|date=4 July 2001|title=ITV Sport Channel announces schedule|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a3249/itv-sport-channel-announces-schedule/|access-date=6 May 2021|website=Digital Spy}}</ref>
The cost of the Football League deal proved one too many a burden for ITV Digital, and it was placed into administration on 27 March 2002, after the League refused to accept a £130m pay cut in its £315m deal with the ITV Sport Channel. Most subscription channels ceased broadcasting on ITV Digital on 1 May 2002, with the ITV Sport Channel being re-designated as a free-to-air channel. The collapse caused severe financial difficulties for lower-division football clubs who had budgeted for large incomes from the television contract.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1946061.stm |title=A player's view |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2002-04-23 |accessdate=2013-08-02}}</ref> ▼
===Closure===
The [[The Football League|Football League]] sued ITV Digital's parent companies, Carlton and Granada, claiming that the firms had breached their contract in failing to deliver the guaranteed income. The League lost the case, with the judge ruling that it had "failed to extract sufficient written guarantees". The League then filed a negligence claim against its lawyers for failing to press for a written guarantee at the time of the deal with ITV Digital. This time it was awarded a paltry £4 in damages of the £150m it was seeking.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hammonds wins Football League claim - but pays £4 damages|url=http://www.thelawyer.com/hammonds-wins-football-league-claim-but-pays-4-damages/120618.article|publisher=[[The Lawyer]]|date=2006-06-23|accessdate=2014-07-13}}</ref> ▼
▲The cost of the Football League deal proved one too many a burden for the struggling ITV Digital
Following the closure of the majority of the subscription channels on ITV Digital on 1 May 2002, the ITV Sport Channel, however, continued to broadcast, being re-designated as a free-to-air channel. The closure of the channel was announced two days later on 3 May, and closed as planned on 11 May, after its coverage of the [[2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final|Division 2 play-off final]] between [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] and [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/may/03/broadcasting.itvdigital|title=ITV Sport to close on May 11|last=Milmo|first=Dan|date=3 May 2002|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=3 May 2002|title=ITV Sport to go off air|publisher=BBC Sport|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1967253.stm|access-date=6 May 2021}}</ref> Following the end of the match, a closedown slide was displayed stating "The ITV Sport Channel has ceased transmission".<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-gh3YilIE</ref>
▲
==Programming==
Throughout its time on air, football was the mainstay of the channel. In addition
==Successor==
In 2017, ITV would launch a similar channel by the name [[ITV Box Office]], showing [[pay-per-view]] boxing and wrestling events; that service also shut down shortly after in 2020.
==References==
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[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 2001]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations disestablished in 2002]]
[[Category:Defunct
[[Category:
[[Category:ITV television channels]]
[[Category:ITV Sport]]
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