Following the news last week that Ideal World TV was looking for a buyer, today the channel is just showing a graphic saying "Ideal World has temporarily suspended broadcasting. We apologise for any inconvenience caused"
All staff have been sent home and told too come back in on Thursday.
The following was issued to staff:
Further to my update on Friday, we wanted to give you more information as to the current position of the business.
There are several interested parties within the process and they have until tomorrow to put forward proposed offers. Over the weekend, there was further interest from new parties and we remain busy speaking to all interested parties and answering any questions they may have. A further update will be provided as soon as we have any further information to share.
Over the weekend, the action of a few key trading partners has added to a recent difficult trading period and therefore we have taken the decision to suspend all trading with immediate effect. This means we will send the TV channels dark and no shows will air. We will also turn off our website so no
further orders are accepted. We will throughout this time continue to progress all prospective buvers and this remains a priority.
We are conscious that a key priority for all staff is being paid. All staff were paid up to the end of June and payroll liability continues to accrue for all employees. The Directors have made a commitment that all accrued salaries will continue to be paid and processed in the usual way in July.
Due to the above, the Directors have taken the decision to send all staff home with immediate effect with the exception of a skeleton staff. If you fall within the skeleton staff. vou will have already been told this information and we will expect that you remain on site. The skeleton staff will allow us to undertake our key obligations. All other staff are asked to return on Thursday 6th July at 11am for an update meeting where we be able to advise you further regarding the sale process.
We would ask that you put your out of office on and remain contactable during this period. We would ask that you refrain from speaking with suppliers or discussing this action we are taking on any social media platform as this may have a negative impact on the buying process.
What does this mean for this long running channel? Only time will tell.