The Scottish Premier League, Setanta subscribers and staff are still waiting to hear if the sports broadcaster will find the financial backing required to stay on the air. The company said it was still in business as it continues emergency meetings in London.
Cash-strapped Setanta has suspended all new customer subscriptions as it attempts to stave off administration.
It was thought the Irish broadcaster would be wound up as early as Wednesday but executives insist the company is not calling in administrators despite more bad news.
In a statement, the broadcaster said: "The company has not gone into administration. All our channels are still broadcasting across all platforms and our subscribers can continue to enjoy our programming. However, in the current circumstances, we have decided to suspend temporarily the acceptance of new subscriptions."
In another development, staff were informed they would be receiving an advance of two weeks' wages. They were not told why or whether they have a future with the company beyond two weeks.
Earlier in the day, Setanta learned that BT would suspend further sales of Setanta Sports on its BT Vision home digital television service. This comes less than a day after BSkyB, the broadcaster of English Premier Football on Sky Sports, turned down a request from Setanta for a £50million interest-free loan.
The broadcaster is urgently attempting to save the business. Sources close to Setanta said the board "was still reviewing all options".
STV news understands it is pursuing two lines of support. The first is with Disney-owned American sports channel ESPN, whose bid last week was rejected by Setanta but is now thought to be back on the table. Setanta currently offers ESPN America and ESPN Classic as part of their suite of channels in the UK.
The second option under examination comes from Setanta's financial backers - investment bankers Goldman Sachs and private-equity firm Doughty Hanson. The pair is understood to be in discussions with a merchant back to try and secure a multi-million pound buyout of the company to keep it afloat.
Setanta's future was thrown into doubt in February when it was out-bid by Sky for one of its two English Premier League packages. Football is the most prized asset of the broadcaster and the lack of top-level matches would diminish the value of the channel and likely having a negative impact on subscriptions.
Setanta has TV rights including the FA Cup, World Cup qualifiers, Premier League, SPL, and the Blue Square Conference - but is struggling to pay for them amid low number of customers.
The firm has been looking to reduce its rights bills, raise cash from investors or even sell a stake in itself to another company, but it is understood Deloitte has been lined up as administrator if the rescue efforts fail.
Some SPL clubs could be forced out of business if Setanta goes into administration, according to Labour peer Lord Foulkes, a former chairman of Hearts.
In a broadcast interview on Wednesday, he said: "I think it puts the future of one or two SPL clubs in jeopardy. They are already struggling financially and this on top of it could be the tipping point.
"In some clubs it represents up to 20% of their income and the loss of it would be really catastrophic."
Setanta failed to pay the final instalment of this season's TV deal last week, leaving the SPL to dip into its own coffers to distribute around £3million, the amount due, to its 12 member clubs.
