French Motorsports Channel Motors TV Enters Financial Safeguard Procedure

French thematic channel Motors TV is having financial difficulties and has been placed in a so-called "procedure de sauvegarde" (safeguard procedure), according to Robert Briel of BROADBAND TV NEWS. Under French law, when a business is "in serious difficulty with payments such a procedure may stave off bankruptcy." This involves "formal negotiations with creditors under judicial supervision" to help the company reorganize. Just recently, Motors TV "stopped broadcasting on the Astra 2G satellite, which implies distribution in the UK on the Sky, Virgin media, Freeview and Freesat platforms has been terminated." A Motors TV Dutch representative said that the safeguard procedure will take six months “to protect the channel and its employees.” Meanwhile, the broadcaster "is refinancing its operations." The channel's spokesperson said that distribution is "not impacted by the procedure and the channel returned to Sky" in the U.K. (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 7/14).