Troubled satellite channel China Entertainment Television (CETV) has gone cap in hand to its viewers to help stay afloat. The company with the 'no sex, no violence, no news' programme ethos this week opened a bank account in which viewers can deposit a 'voluntary subscription fee'. The account was opened early this week and CETV said viewers in several countries had made donations, including US$2,000 from a Malaysian viewer, NT$100,000 (about HK$22,860) from someone in Taiwan and 2,000 yuan (about HK$1,859) from a viewer in Liaoning. CETV was left in financial difficulty after a mainland consortium pulled out of a deal to buy an 80 per cent stake. Founder and chairman Robert Chua laid-off half its workforce at the end of last month and said CETV would close at the end of this month unless new investors were found. He now says it can continue until the end of February, with the help of viewer donations and voluntary deferral of salaries. If a new investor emerged, Mr Chua said donations would be transferred to a fund for people in need. He said several potential investors had shown interest in CETV and the company was confident a new partnership and financing could be achieved. The channel - which broadcasts in Mandarin and promotes 'Chinese family values' - largely has been shunned by advertisers who believe its audience is limited. Its financial difficulties were magnified after a deal with five mainland companies last October which Mr Chua had hoped would give it capital and contacts on the mainland to promote the channel. The contract would have given the mainland companies an 80 per cent share for US$34.3 million, of which US$11.8 million was up-front, with the rest deferred for five years without interest. As part of the deal, Mr Chua needed to clear the companies debts and buy out remaining shareholders - although it is not clear who these were. The deal collapsed in December. It is not known why the mainland consortium pulled out.