Global TV network files for bankruptcy amid lawsuit

The major U.S. television networks, NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox, have never filed for bankruptcy during their existence, although some smaller cable networks have filed petitions.

The network’s biggest recent bankruptcy filing was that of TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw’s Merit Street Media Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 protection to reorganize on July 2, 2025, RK Consultants reported.

Television shopping network QVC Group Inc. has discussed filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but has not yet filed a petition, Bloomberg reported.

And now, Mexico’s second largest television network, TV Azteca, filed for bankruptcy protection in the First Bankruptcy Court of Mexico City, case No. 22/2026, on March 10, known as a commercial bankruptcy file, seeking to reorganize its business, facing a Mexican tax settlement of $1.7 billion in installments and a lawsuit for its failure to comply with $400 million in promissory notes. unsecured

Mexico’s main television network is Televisa, which has not declared bankruptcy.

TV Azteca, whose petition was formally admitted to the Mexican court on March 20, could soon file for Chapter 15 protection in a US bankruptcy court if a Mexican bankruptcy court approves the debtor’s restructuring plan, according to a report by US law firm Snell & Wilmer.

“As a result, TV Azteca’s bankruptcy proceedings could become an important test of the extent to which foreign insolvency proceedings may affect creditor rights, collateral enforcement, and pending litigation in the United States,” Snell & Wilmer attorneys Gonzalo Bugeda Salido and Steven D. Jerome wrote in the report.

“For creditors, investors and restructuring professionals, the case deserves close attention as a potentially momentous development in the practice of cross-border insolvency between Mexico and the United States,” the lawyers wrote.

Under an agreement with Mexican tax authorities, TV Azteca agreed to pay $1.7 billion in 18 installments, with the first installment on January 29, 2026 exceeding $500 million.

TV Azteca also obtained $400 million in unsecured notes in 2017 with trustee Bank of New York Mellon, which was guaranteed by 34 of the debtor’s subsidiaries. The notes would have matured in 2024, but TV Azteca stopped making payments in February 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Holders of more than 25% of the principal amount of the bonds in May 2022 filed an acceleration notice against TV Azteca for default, but in July 2022 the network requested declaratory relief to invalidate the acceleration notice, according to the report.

The network also obtained a court order prohibiting bondholders from initiating proceedings to collect unpaid principal on the bonds.

Bank of New York Mellon filed a motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint against TV Azteca and the 34 subsidiaries, alleging breach of the notes and removing the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

TV Azteca responded to the Bank of New York’s motion with a lawsuit against the bank in a Mexico City court in September 2022, seeking declaratory relief that the acceleration notice was unenforceable, arguing that compliance with the notes was impossible due to the Covid pandemic.

Certain bondholders filed involuntary Chapter 11 petitions against TV Azteca in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in March 2023, which were dismissed. In June 2024, the bank filed a motion with the United States District Court enjoining TV Azteca from bringing claims in Mexico related to the notes, which was granted in September 2025.

After TV Azteca filed for bankruptcy in Mexico, the Bank of New York asked the district court to allow its case to proceed unless the network obtained a stay in a US court.

The First Bankruptcy Court of Mexico City issued an initial suspension, granted measures to protect TV Azteca’s assets and ordered the appointment of an inspector to determine whether TV Azteca complies with the insolvency requirements established by Mexican law.

If it determines that the network is insolvent, the debtor will enter the conciliation phase, at which point TV Azteca will attempt to negotiate substantial reductions in creditors’ claims to avoid liquidation, according to the Snell & Wilmer report.

The case from the First Bankruptcy Court of Mexico City will test whether Mexican bankruptcy law can be used to restructure not only TV Azteca’s internal obligations, but also its external obligations and those of its subsidiary guarantors, according to the report.

Related: Another Award-Winning Brewery Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

This story was originally published by TheStreet on April 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.