It's business as usual for the company that secured the contract to televise the TT races.

That's the message from North One Television following the announcement that North One Sport, a separate company under different ownership, has lost its contract to promote the World Rally Championships.

It's the latest blow for North One Sport, whose parent company Convers Sports Initiatives, was placed into administration in November.

North One Sport staff members attended a redundancy meeting in London on Monday following the announcement by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) that it had terminated the promoter’s contract, claiming it had ‘conspicuously failed’ to deliver its contractual obligations and was in breach of contract.

But Manx Government officials insisted that North One Sport’s difficulties had nothing to do with North One Television, which secured the rights to televise the TT in 2009.

Sports marketing firm CSI acquired North One Sport from North One Television in March last year.


In a statement, the Department of Economic Development said: ‘North One Television has a contract to manage the TT Races sponsorship and licensing on behalf of the Department of Economic Development, which they secured following a tender in November 2009.

‘The company also holds a separate contract to produce and distribute television footage.

‘Both contracts are unaffected by the recent decision by the FIA not to retain North One Sport, a separate company with different ownership, for the commercial rights for the World Rally Championship.

‘North One Television will manage both the commercial and broadcast services for the 2012 Isle of Man TT Races.’

FIA’s announcement on Friday has thrown the World Rally Championships into disarray just days before the Monte Carlo season-opener.

The FIA has launched urgent top level talks with several partners and suppliers to try to secure the future of the championships.

CSI was headed up by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov who was arrested and bailed late last year as part of a bank fraud investigation being carried by authorities in Lithuania.


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