The announcement was a severe blow to the original owners of ITV Digital (Carlton and Granada), who also entered a bid for the licences.
The deal make no difference to the campaign by the Football League to gain compensation from the failed company and by the fans to 'Can The Commercials', by extending the World Cup boycott of ITV to other sporting broadcasts as well as more general programming.
FYI 81% of the population who watched the World Cup final did so throught the BBC. The fewer people who watch ITV means that their advertising revenue will be reduced, hitting them where it hurts most.