HOMELESS: MediaWorks has lost its right to screen all Fox shows including Homeland.

Television schedules have been thrown into chaos after restructured MediaWorks cut a wide-ranging deal with Fox, forcing shows like The Simpsons and Modern Family off the air from tomorrow.

A television industry insider told Fairfax Media that MediaWorks' previous deal with Fox, struck just prior to the global financial crisis, and an accompanying slump in advertising revenue had been onerous.

"The Fox deal is what drove them into bankruptcy. It was a terrible deal," the source said.

D'OH!: Homer J Simpson is without a home on New Zealand TV.

MediaWorks, the owner of TV3, FOUR and a suite of radio stations including The Rock and RadioLive, had receivers appointed by bankers in August.

Receivership was widely viewed as a mechanism for the company's bankers to pare debts of $700 million and cut some liabilities - to television studios and Inland Revenue - ahead of transition to a new company tomorrow.

Rod McGeoch, chairman of the new company, said full output deals struck prior to receivership had been renegotiated.

McGeoch said deals with NBC Universal, Sony CBS had been struck, but Fox - provider of many of TV3 and FOUR's shows - was a sticking point and shows like Homeland, Modern Family, Bones, Sons of Anarchy, New Girl and The Simpsons would no longer be screened.

"It's a brave new world and we have embraced the need for more flexible commercial arrangements with studios," McGeoch said.

"In our view, full output agreements for the television business are outdated and don't make commercial sense in the New Zealand market.

"While we chose not to pursue an output deal with Fox, we are working to establish a new arrangement with them."

Fairfax Media understands that while discussions between MediaWorks and Fox were ongoing, all Fox shows on the network would be cut from schedules from tomorrow until at least the end of the year.

The television industry source said Fox had driven a hard bargain, refusing to discuss buying individual shows and forcing MediaWorks into a take it or leave it decision.

"Fox may have overplayed their hand," the television source said.

The high-rating programmes - Bones and Sons of Anarchy are amongst TV3 top-20 most-viewed shows - will probably be auctioned off in the next few months, with all New Zealand free-to-air networks making bids.

A spokeswoman for TVNZ said it was interested in looking at the deal but nothing had been decided yet.

The source anticipated the shows would all be on New Zealand screens by the time new series began airing in the United States early next year.

The source said the big question remaining for MediaWorks was whether FOUR would continue to be viable, given its reliance on Fox programming.

MediaWorks said in its statement: "MediaWorks' two-channel strategy hasn't changed. FOUR remains the home of pure entertainment for 18-49 year-old viewers, and plans to purchase additional programming for the channel are well under way."

The sudden change to schedules will leave viewers in the lurch, particularly for the Fox-heavy FOUR, with printed programme guides out of date.

A MediaWorks spokeswoman directed viewers to schedules on the FOUR website, and said electronic programme guides would be updated shortly.

Receiver Brendon Gibson, of KordaMentha, said the company's assets would formally change hands tomorrow.

"We are pleased that the business has traded so well during receivership and the transition to [banker-owned] MediaWorks Holdings has been successfully completed with all staff retained," Gibson said.