Sales house Ignite Media Brands is set to lay off staff after losing a raft of clients, AdNews understands. The firm recently lost Fox International Channels, including National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Adventure and FX, to rival MCN.
Earlier this year it was announced that Ignite clients channels TV1 and SF would cease current broadcasts at the year end. Many of the programs on those channels will resurface under NBC Universal's Universal and Syfy brands, also part of MCN's stable, to be launched next year.
A rumoured deal with Nine was dismissed by the broadcaster last week as "not happening, we're not interested".
It leaves Ignite with a thin client roster, with Nickelodeon and MTV the only remaining big names.
Redundancies are set to follow as the firm attempts to balance the books. An internal announcement was made to staff on Friday with an offical announcement due imminently.
Ignite has not returned requests for comment at the time of publication.
Updated: Ignite has now issued a statement:
We are disappointed to learn that Fox International Channels have chosen to change representation, and recognize that this decision will have an impact on Ignite Media Brands. We are currently exploring options with our joint venture partners on how best to position the business in 2014.
Our priority is to keep our employees abreast of developments and how they may impact operations. We appreciate that this news may raise questions, however we are not in a position to provide additional details at this point.
For the immediate future, Ignite Media Brands will continue to represent Viacom International Media Networks, Sound Alliance, SBS pay-TV services and CNBC.
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