TLDR
Direct Group plans to close TVSN and its Innovations business on 15 November after talks with buyers produced no deal. A $30 million closing-down sale is under way, purchasing from suppliers is suspended, and at least one small supplier says it is waiting to be paid.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The closure date
Direct Group, which owns the TVSN home shopping channel and the Innovations catalogue business, has told suppliers it plans to shut both on 15 November. "We currently intend to close our doors on 15 November 2026," the company said in an email reported on 21 October.[2] Its board had held talks with potential acquirers and investors, but "those discussions have not resulted in a binding transaction".[1]
TVSN, formerly The Value Channel, has been on air since 1995. When the closure was first announced on 6 October, the company said it would abandon the plan if a buyer was found.[4]
Suppliers waiting to be paid
A closing-down sale began on 6 October to clear about $30 million of fashion, footwear, accessories, lifestyle and home goods, and ordinary purchasing from suppliers has been suspended since then.[2] "We recognise the significant impact these developments have had on our suppliers," Direct Group said.[1]
Some of those suppliers have said so in public. Under TVSN's Instagram post, Caju Designs wrote: "We've delivered a lot of stock and need to be paid," adding: "We are a small family run business!"[2]
How it got here
Earlier this month Direct Group was seeking a buyer or new capital for the whole business or parts of it, Mediaweek reported. The group, which also owns Reader's Digest, Innovations and In Fashions, has around 250 full-time and part-time staff, and TVSN runs two free-to-air channels, two Foxtel channels and two apps, with a potential national audience of 17 million.[3]
Executive chairman Bernie Brookes blamed debt left by former private equity owner Champ: "they left an enormous amount of debt and we never really recovered from that debt." He said the immediate problem was supply: "our sales are tumbling because we can't get stock to sell."[3]
The closure takes TVSN's free-to-air and Foxtel channels off air. Direct Group has not said what happens to them, or to its staff, after 15 November.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
- Inside Retail, Collapsed TVSN fails to find rescue buyer, 21 October 2026
- Ragtrader, Closure day set for TVSN, Innovations business, 21 October 2026
- Mediaweek, TVSN is holding a huge closing down sale - here's why, 5 October 2026
- Inside Retail, Shopping channel TVSN closing down after 30 years, 6 October 2026
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
