Sportsworld appoints PwC receivers

TELEVISION and promotions group Sportsworld Media, owner of half the rights to the Popstars show, has called in the receiver.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed administrative receiver and will take over the day-to-day running of the company, which employs 300 people in Britain and Australia.

Sportsworld had been looking to sell off assets to raise cash, but PricewaterhouseCoopers said that the group's directors had decided there was now 'insufficient working capital to continue the process in the short term'.

Only six months ago, the group hailed a list of major advertising deals with Mastercard, Sony and L'Oréal and shrugged off fears of a downturn.

PwC partner David Hargrave hinted that a sale of Sportsworld's main operations was now likely.

'Significant interest has already been expressed in numerous subsidiaries and we are optimistic that many will be preserved for the long term,' he said.

Sportsworld produces a range of TV programmes from international versions of The Pepsi Chart Show to shows on extreme sports. It also sells programme sponsorship and billboard advertising at sports stadiums, including some British Test Match cricket grounds.