QVC and HSN File for Bankruptcy amid TikTok Shopping Shift

QVC Group, the parent company the home shopping TV brands HSN and QVC, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company disclosed the plan in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“As of the Petition Date, we intend to operate our businesses as a debtor-in-possession under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and orders of the Bankruptcy Court,” the filing says. “QVC Group and QVC, Inc. intend to request approval from the Bankruptcy Court for a variety of “first day” motions to continue our ordinary course operations during the Chapter 11 Cases. Although no assurance can be made as to a potential emergence date, QVC Group is targeting emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases within approximately 90 days.”

The specifics around the bankruptcy remain to be determined, though Chapter 11 allows a company to continue operating while it is restructured.

A year ago the company laid off 900 staffers as it consolidated its operations and plotted a shift to live shopping on social platforms like TikTok, which have emerged as the next-generation home for that type of content.

“Linear TV is a highly engaging, highly profitable platform and it remains our cornerstone. However, as traditional TV declines and a mix of video platforms takes a greater share of customer attention, we must hurry our expansion beyond TV to find growth,” the company said at the time.

Platforms like TikTok Shop and shopping creators on YouTube and Instagram have stolen much of the thunder, helped along by cheap products that can be shipped from Asia and other markets.

The company also pursued other content deals for programming that could complement its shopping offerings, like a deal to carry pickleball matches.

Still, the bankruptcy is the end of an era for one of the most powerful brands of the cable TV generation.

QVC Group is part of the cable mogul John Malone’s media empire, with the billionaire buying the brand for $7.9 billion in 2003, and subsequently folding in Home Shopping Network in 2017.