The last broadcast: ATV staff prepare for life when troubled station goes off air
Staff of ailing broadcaster Asia Television woke up to the prospect of unemployment after the government pulled the plug on the station by refusing to renew its free-to-air licence.
After months of uncertainty, employees of ailing broadcaster Asia Television (ATV) were yesterday coming round to the reality that they will be looking for another job in the coming months, if not sooner.
Already, at least 100 staff members have resigned from the station since last November after it failed to keep up salary payments following a drop in advertising revenue and its long-drawn battle to convince the government to allow it to continue broadcasting.
That gambit came to an end on Wednesday and ATV's time is now nearly up. The station can continue broadcasting until April 1 next year - if it manages to work out a plan to stay afloat that long - leaving around 600 remaining staff to contemplate their next move.
READ MORE: Ailing broadcaster ATV may not be able to see out its final days, admits top executive
Beccon Lau Pui-chun, chief librarian in the news department, said he had lost hope for the company he has served for 35 long years.