Analysis
By Jeff Randall BBC Business Editor

Launched amidst much ballyhoo and bravado, ITV Digital's pay-TV services vanished from our screens after the administrator threw in the towel and admitted that nobody wanted to buy this deeply flawed business.

With hopes fading that much can be gained from selling off the company's assets bit by bit, the search for culprits now starts in earnest.

Rarely in business does a robust fight end in a draw, and in this case BSkyB knocked its opponent ITV Digital out of the ring

Who was to blame for this debacle and will heads roll?

For many, particularly those on the left of Britain's political spectrum, the answer to the first question is clear: Rupert Murdoch.

As the controlling shareholder in BSkyB, ITV Digital's main rival, Murdoch's News Corporation is already being demonised as the monopolistic giant that bullied its fledgling challenger into submission.

But it's not that simple.

A bloody fight

When ITV Digital's owners Granada and Carlton formed a digital consortium in the mid-nineties, BSkyB was part of the gang.

ITV Digital - timeline

Jan 1997: BSkyB, Carlton and Granada form British Digital Broadcasting June 1997: BSkyB told to quit project