In a hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen Specie said she would allow the television network to borrow $1.6 million from an entity linked to Shahid Khan, the billionaire who has been funding Black News Channel (BNC) since 2018.

The funds will allow BNC to continue paying vendors and its few surviving employees while it searches for a buyer for the company’s activities.

BNC, a black-owned television network, was on the verge of closing down and selling itself in pieces late last month after running out of money. According to court documents, the company downsized its operations and fired practically all of its employees, many of whom are still owed money for work completed before to the bankruptcy.

Rather of liquidating, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has been working to preserve operations on a much smaller scale since then. According to court documents, BNC rehired seven staff in the last week who will assist the channel stay on the air. BNC had only 17 employees when it filed for bankruptcy, a fraction of the more than 300 individuals who worked for the Tallahassee-based broadcaster six months earlier.

According to court documents, BNC had about $500,000 in cash on hand at the end of last month, despite debts totaling more than $25 million. In a sworn affidavit, Vice President of Finance Maureen Brown noted that despite valuable distribution arrangements with cable and Internet television providers, the company has failed to turn a profit due to higher-than-expected costs and poor revenues since it began airing in 2020.

According to court documents, numerous bidders have contacted the company in recent weeks about buying the operations and keeping it afloat. Attorney Gregory Werkheiser testified on behalf of BNC at the bankruptcy hearing Tuesday that lawyers for the company and its creditors believe that selling the entire business would maximise value for everyone involved. However, due to a lack of finance, a deal would have to be made swiftly.

“We think this case is going to rise and fall within the next sixty days,” Christopher Schreiber, a lawyer for the investment of Shahid Khan entity, said in the hearing. “Hopefully within that time we’re going to have a sale.”

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