German business and financial news channel DAF has filed for insolvency.
In particular the high costs for the satellite distribution on Astra (19.2° East) have led to considerable losses, the broadcaster said in a statement, adding that it hasn’t been possible to sufficiently cover DAF’s expenses through advertising income.
“Our TV advertising turnover has remained below expectations due to the difficult environment,” DAF CEO Conrad Heberling said in Kulmbach. The broadcaster had also felt the increasingly stronger regulation of its customers which mainly came from the financial industry. “Numerous companies from the financial industry completely abandoned advertising because of increasingly stronger restrictions.”
DAF’s financial situation considerably worsened in January 2015 following the Swiss National Bank’s surprising decision to lift the capped exchange rate for the Swiss Franc. The subsequent market turbulences led to difficulties at an important advertising customer who had to file for insolvency, according to DAF.
The channel owned by Kulmbach-based media entrepreneur Bernd Förtsch (Börsenmedien AG) will stay on air. DAF will be restructured in the next months and turned from a satellite TV channel into an internet-only TV channel targeting a financially interested audience with strong internet affiliation.
The channel’s schedule will continue to comprise in-house produced stock market programmes and financial reports.
DAF wants to keep as many of its 39 employees as possible. The executive board members Conrad Heberling and Mick Knauff resigned from their positions today.