Fuse Media said it is in talks with its lenders after the multicultural youth-focused music and entertainment company missed a $12.5 million interest payment.
In a statement Thursday, Fuse said it is working with its lenders toward a solution and that while the process is ongoing, it is business as usual at its media properties.
“Fuse Media has been in active discussions with our lenders to determine how we can best address the debt on our company’s balance sheet,” Fuse said in the statement. “Our goal is to strengthen our long-term financial position in ways that further our mission to provide entertainment to America’s underserved multicultural youth.
“As an outgrowth of these discussions, we have secured a forbearance agreement from the lender group that provides additional time for us to negotiate the best path forward based on the progress that has been made to date,” the company continued.
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According to a report in the New York Post, Fuse Media missed the payment on Jan. 1. Fuse has debt of about $240 million.
Fuse Media includes linear cable and video-on-demand channels Fuse TV and FM (Fuse Music); online properties including Fuse.tv and OTT apps; social media; and live events.
In December, Fuse TV was dropped by two prominent distributors — Comcast and Verizon Communications’ Fios TV. At the time of the Comcast drop, Fuse said it was not given a reason for the action but attributed it to the expiration of federally-imposed conditions on its former purchase of NBCUniversal. As part of that deal, Comcast agreed to treat all networks — even ones it does not own — fairly.
