ATV's future still up in the air as investors stay wary of broadcaster
No investors to the rescue for broadcaster yet, but executive director confident saviour will come
About 10 investors from around the world voiced "immense interest" in acquiring the heavily indebted ATV but nothing came to pass, an executive director said yesterday as the station teetered on the brink of collapse.
The 57-year-old broadcaster was at the crossroads of life and death, Ip Ka-po said, though he stressed he was "fully confident" an investor would become ATV's saviour sooner or later.
The brave front Ip put up may have been an attempt to pacify its 700 employees furious about delayed pay, but time is running out as some have warned that they will quit en masse as soon as tomorrow.
The staff exodus may trigger an operational breakdown and, in the worst-case scenario, the revocation of ATV's free-to-air television licence that will in any case expire in November should the government decide against renewing it.
Ip said the 10-odd prospective buyers contemplating the purchase of a 10.57 per cent stake were a mix of local, mainland, overseas and fund investors. "A free-to-air licence is attractive," he said. "Many buyers had expressed immense interest in ATV. Many of them wanted [the licence] … The white knight has not yet emerged."
He dropped the name of Ricky Wong Wai-kay, the owner of failed licence bidder Hong Kong Television Network.
"I discussed programming cooperation with him," Ip said.
