One World Sports is in talks over a takeover and retains an “extremely bright future” amid reports of its employees being sent on periods of leave, according to the North American sports broadcaster’s chief executive, Sandy Brown.
The Awful Announcing website said One World Sports has “furloughed” most of its staff, while organisers, vendors and talent have not been paid.
Brown admitted that staff members have been placed on leave and said: “We are in a sale process, and as we are being vigilant about our cost structure, we took the action of temporarily furloughing some of our employees.”
Speaking to Awful Announcing, he added: “The network’s future is not in doubt, for we continue to grow our affiliate base. Every company may take different paths to manage their business, and this is a path that we have taken at this time. We look forward to continuing to build our relationship with affiliates and consumers alike.
“I think the network has an extremely bright future. We know that versus our peer group, we are an exceptional value. We hit a very sought after target demo, and our ability to program quality live content with very high production values makes us as competitive as any network in the business. I add to this that we have one of the very best management teams in the industry.”
One World Sports was formed in 2010 and primarily offers North American Soccer League games, along with other football content. It also televises the England national cricket team’s home internationals, ice hockey’s Kontinental Hockey League and Champions Hockey League, Chinese Basketball Association events and the OneAsia golf tour.