• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, January 13, 2012

The auction for Plum TV, the group of cable channels that has filed for bankruptcy protection, is expected to take place March 1. A bid would have to top the purchase agreement, worth about $15 million, reached before the bankruptcy filing with a group led by former Hearst Television executive Terry Mackin and Titan Worldwide founder Bill Apfelbaum.

That arrangement includes $1 million in cash and the assumption of about $14 million in debt. The group has loaned Plum $250,000 to keep operations moving as the case proceeds in New York federal bankruptcy court. 

Plum, launched in 2004, runs a group of channels in resort areas such as Aspen, The Hamptons, Nantucket and Miami Beach. The founder is Tom Scott, who also launched Nantucket Nectars, a beverage company. Investors include New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, whose company owns about 11%.

Last year, the company anticipated that losses would be $8.4 million on $6.4 million in revenue, according to court papers.

Before the bankruptcy filing, Plum received inquiries from about 23 parties with the Mackin-Apfelbaum group emerging from them, according to court papers.

Plum goes by the tagline “The Best Things In Life Are Plum” and targets upscale audiences. Advertisers include BMW and Chase Sapphire.

At Hearst, where he was executive vice president of the station group, Mackin headed the NBC affiliates board. He later moved to Univision. Apfelbaum co-founded the Titan outdoor business in 2001; before that, he led TDI, which is now part of CBS’ outdoor operations.