From Bankruptcy to Studio: Legal Steps for Media Companies Rebooting Their Business

Rebooting a Media Company After Bankruptcy: Legal Priorities You Can’t Delay

Facing tight deadlines, skeptical creditors, and the need to hire new executives fast? If your media company is exiting bankruptcy and pivoting business models — from an agency or production-for-hire to a studio or IP-driven platform — the legal moves you make in the first 90 days will set the trajectory for value recovery. This guide translates lessons from Vice Media’s post-bankruptcy hires and strategy in early 2026 into a practical legal playbook for media operators, general counsel, and investors.

Top-line: What to prioritize now

• Secure exit financing and confirm the plan: Ensure the plan of reorganization, DIP-to-exit financing and any creditor consents are fully documented.
• Lock down C-suite and key talent: Align employment agreements, equity rollovers, and retention incentives with the restructuring plan.
• Audit and transfer IP cleanly: Resolve ownership gaps, clear encumbrances, and manage license assignments.
• Resolve executory contracts: Decide assumption, rejection, or assignment of distribution/production agreements and vendor contracts.
• Plan M&A or strategic partnerships: Optimize transaction structure (stock sale vs asset sale vs 363) for tax and creditor outcomes.

Case study: Vice Media’s 2025–2026 reboot — what it signals for legal strategy

In late 2025 and early 2026, Vice Media reshaped its leadership team as part of a post-bankruptcy pivot toward becoming a studio. Executives such as Joe Friedman (CFO) and Devak Shah (EVP of strategy) were hired to manage growth and rebuild the company’s commercial footprint.

"The rebooted company has hired a former ICM Partners finance chief and NBCUniversal biz dev veteran to manage its growth chapter," reported The Hollywood Reporter in January 2026.

Why this matters legally: hiring experienced C-suite talent in a post-bankruptcy context is high-reward but high-risk. Employment contracts, indemnities, and incentive plans must be structured to preserve value, meet disclosure obligations, and avoid creditor objections. Vice’s hires illustrate an increasingly common post-exit strategy: bolster operational capability quickly while legal teams execute cleanup — transfers, assumptions, and debt renegotiations — in parallel.

1. Bankruptcy exit mechanics: essential legal frameworks

Understanding the legal mechanics of your exit sets the baseline for every subsequent deal.

Plan of Reorganization vs Section 363 Sale

• Plan of Reorganization: Keeps the company intact and negotiates creditor classes, cramdowns, and equity rollovers. Useful when you want continuity of contracts and workforce.
• Section 363 Asset Sale: Clean-slate transfers of assets (including IP) to a buyer free of most liens and liabilities. Often preferred when buyers seek a tidy acquisition without legacy obligations.

Choice of structure drives legal work: 363 sales demand precise asset schedules, IP cure processes, and license assignment mechanics; plans require disclosure statements and negotiated settlements with creditor committees.

Executory Contracts: Assume, Reject, or Assign?

Media companies typically have dozens — if not hundreds — of executory contracts: production deals, talent agreements, distribution licenses, agency or vendor contracts. Under U.S. Bankruptcy Code, you must decide whether to:

• Assume: Continue the contract — you must cure defaults and obtain counterparty consent for assignment if needed.
• Reject: Terminate and treat pre-petition damages as a claim in bankruptcy.
• Assign: Transfer to a buyer — requires consent unless contract allows assignment without approval; cure amounts may be charged.

2. IP transfer: valuation, chain of title, and license assignments

IP is the core asset for modern media studios. The legal checklist below is non-negotiable.

IP Due Diligence Checklist

• Register and document: Confirm registered copyrights, trademarks, and any patents. Unregistered works must be documented with creation records.
• Chain of title: Collect assignment agreements from freelancers, vendors, and production partners to avoid orphaned rights.
• Encumbrances and liens: Identify security interests, pledges, and perfection gaps; clear or negotiate satisfactions.
• Licenses and exclusivity: Map third-party licenses (music, stock footage) and their assignability/termination triggers.
• AI and data rights: Assess training-data licenses and consent forms in light of AI regulation developments in 2025–2026. See notes on monetizing training data and evolving rights.

Practical action: Create an IP ledger that ties each asset to contractual proof of ownership and to any restrictions. Use the ledger to populate the asset schedule for a 363 sale or the disclosure schedules in a plan.

Assignments in Bankruptcy — Key Legal Tips

• Confirm the license agreement’s anti-assignment clause. If it requires consent, start negotiation early — courts will not bypass express consent obligations lightly for non-essential licenses.
• For music and third-party content, budget for cure amounts and renegotiation. Licensing costs often surge post-exit.
• Use escrows and holdbacks to ring-fence IP indemnity exposure in M&A documents.

3. Employment agreements and C-suite hiring: retention, incentives, and compliance

Attracting executives like Vice’s new CFO requires more than an offer letter. Post-bankruptcy hires must account for obligations to creditors, potential clawbacks, and public perception.

Key contract elements for post-exit C-suite hires

• At-will vs. term: A short guaranteed term (12–24 months) plus performance milestones balances retention with flexibility.
• Compensation mix: Cash salary, performance bonuses, and equity rollover/refresh grants. Equity should align with post-reorg cap table and creditor settlements.
• Retention bonuses and 363/plan approvals: If payment depends on bankruptcy estate or creditor consent, document approvals in the plan or purchaser’s purchase agreement.
• Clawback and claw-forward protections: Define triggers for forfeiture or repayment tied to pre-bankruptcy liabilities, fraud, or material misstatement.
• Change-of-control and golden parachute: Draft carefully to avoid tax penalties under Section 280G and to reflect the company’s new capital structure.
• Severance and IP assignment: Ensure all employees and executives execute robust IP assignment, confidentiality, and non-solicitation covenants (consistent with local law).

Practical negotiation strategies

1. Offer equity that is subject to vesting tied to operational KPIs and the reorg plan’s milestones.
2. Use earn-outs and milestone-based cash to limit immediate cash drain while incentivizing performance.
3. Coordinate employment terms with investor and creditor advisors to avoid over-promising estate resources.

4. M&A strategies: structuring the transaction post-bankruptcy

Decisions between asset sale, stock sale, or an equity infusion will hinge on tax, liability, and contract transfer considerations.

When to prefer an asset sale (363)

• Buyers want a clean title free of legacy liabilities
• IP and select contracts are the core value drivers
• Bankruptcy court can speed approval via sale procedures

When to prefer a plan-driven stock/equity transaction

• Continuity of relationships and contracts is critical
• Equity rollovers by existing shareholders or management are part of recovery
• Complex intercreditor arrangements must be respected

Tip: Model both scenarios early — use tax advisors and IP counsel to simulate post-transaction liabilities and to price indemnities and escrows.

5. Media contracts: production, distribution, and advertiser agreements

Media contracts have unique provisions that deserve targeted review when pivoting to a studio model.

Critical contract clauses to re-evaluate

• Work-for-hire and independent contractor clauses: Ensure writers, directors, and freelancers have clear IP assignment.
• Exclusivity and output commitments: Rebalance exclusive windows to support a studio’s distribution flexibility.
• Force majeure and termination provisions: Revisit in light of supply-chain and production delays seen in 2024–2025.
• Advertiser indemnities and brand-safety clauses: Tighten copy approval, rights clearances, and make-sure AI-generated content is disclosed where required by new regulations.

6. Regulatory & compliance trends (2025–2026) that affect media restarts

Regulation is increasingly design-driven. In 2025–2026, media companies must navigate three expanding regulatory areas:

• AI transparency laws: EU AI Act enforcement and emerging U.S. state laws impact disclosure and licensing of AI-generated content and training data. See practical on-set AI considerations in mixed-reality and text-to-image workflows.
• Labor and gig-economy scrutiny: Government audits and union organizing have intensified across production hubs — draft agreements to minimize misclassification risk. Related hiring and screening trends are covered in the AI screening & driver hiring analysis.
• Data privacy: Cross-border distribution requires compliance with GDPR-like regimes and new U.S. state privacy rules affecting user-generated content platforms. Integrate compliance into onboarding and tenancy systems such as those reviewed in onboarding & tenancy automation.

Lawyers should work with ops teams to insert compliance triggers into contracts and to create fallback workflows if a license or right becomes unenforceable.

7. Integration playbook: first 90 days post-exit (legal sprint roadmap)

1. Day 0–7: Governance and fiduciary actions
   • Board appointments and committee formation
   • Finalize plan confirmation or sale order and publish notice to counterparties
2. Day 7–30: Contracts and IP lock-down
   • Execute critical assignments, cures, and IP perfection filings
   • Onboard C-suite with fully executed employment agreements and equity documents
3. Day 30–60: Monetization and partnerships
   • Renegotiate distribution deals to match studio cadence
   • Secure strategic partners and finalize licensing roadmaps
4. Day 60–90: Compliance and growth positioning
   • Implement AI/disclosure policies; update privacy notices
   • Prepare investor and advertiser pitch materials with legal sign-offs

8. Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Underestimating IP encumbrances: Always expect music and third-party content to have higher cure costs.
• Rushed executive agreements: Omissions on clawbacks or 280G tax consequences can create costly post-hire disputes.
• Ignoring assignment consent timing: Start consent negotiations early; some licensors require board-level approvals that take weeks.
• Neglecting employee IP assignment for legacy work: Missing assignments from past freelancers can derail clean transfers.

9. Document checklist: contracts to prepare or update

• Employment agreements and offer letters (C-suite and key hires)
• IP assignment agreements from contractors and vendors
• Updated master licensing agreements and distribution addenda
• Purchase agreement (asset sale or stock sale) drafts and schedules
• Escrow and indemnity schedules tied to IP and tax risks
• Retention agreements and bonus payment approvals

Actionable takeaways — immediate to-do list

1. Create an IP ledger and prioritize top 20 assets for immediate title clearance.
2. Run a legal audit on top 30 executory contracts and designate assume/reject/assign status.
3. Draft C-suite offers with staged equity vesting tied to reorg milestones and clear clawback language.
4. Model both 363 and plan outcomes for tax and creditor settlements; involve tax counsel now.
5. Update production and advertiser contracts to reflect AI disclosure and data privacy requirements.

Why counsel matters: the intersection of law, finance, and creative strategy

Vice’s early 2026 hires underscore a broader trend: successful reboots align legal restructuring with strategic hires and commercial positioning. Legal teams don’t just close deals — they enable creative and commercial pivots by designing enforceable, scalable frameworks for IP, talent, and monetization.

Final checklist for leaders before you spend the first post-exit dollar

• Signed board resolutions and documented authority for expenditures
• Executed employment contracts for all named executives
• Confirmed cure payments and documented assumptions/assignments
• IP clearance for launch content and monetization channels
• Compliance playbook for AI, privacy, and labor risks

Call-to-action

If you’re leading a media company through a bankruptcy exit or preparing a strategic pivot, start with a tailored legal sprint. We help media operators translate restructuring outcomes into operating playbooks — from IP ledgers to C-suite employment packages and 363 sale documentation. Contact our team to schedule a 30-minute intake to map your first 90-day legal roadmap and download our Post-Exit Legal Checklist.

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