Stricken broadcaster ITV Digital is to cease all its pay TV services tonight and lay off 1,300 call-centre workers, sources claimed today.
The dramatic development came as speculation was growing that administrators had failed to find a serious buyer for the business.
However, free-to-air services could continue for a short term.
The English Football League and ITV Digital's parent companies Granada and Carlton have been at a stalemate over Stg£178.5million which is due over the next two years.
ITV Digital agreed a lucrative three-year contract in the summer to televise League matches, but have found themselves in financial trouble and unable to pay the money they owe.
Union leaders believe that 900 jobs at Pembroke, in west Wales, and 400 in Plymouth, Devon, will be axed tonight.
Officials at the Transport and General Workers Union were frantically trying to discover when any decisions would be made about redundancies.
"The way workers are being kept in the dark is atrocious," said one T&G officer. "There are so many rumours and yet again the workers are the last to be told."
Speculation was rife that employees in Plymouth will be laid off tonight, while rumours at the call centre in Pembroke said its staff would lose their jobs tomorrow.
PA