The entire network had a market capitalisation of $170 million when trading ended on Friday afternoon, which is less than the current value of its television licence alone.

There is now intense pressure on marquee shows like MasterChef, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to deliver audiences that advertisers want to reach. As long as those advertisers are there.

Ten's two summer shows, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and The Biggest Loser, failed to attract the advertising dollars the network needed and in February chief executive Paul Anderson warned shareholders that Ten may report half-year losses of up to $5 million and full-year losses up to $30 million.

The television industry was "under severe duress", he added.

There was an initial sell-off and recovery, but negative sentiment has been relentless since the start of April.

The company was worth $542 million at its full-year results when Ten revealed pre-tax earnings of $4.5 million, the first positive result in several years. This was thanks to a 7.5 per cent increase in advertising revenue and Mr Anderson noted in the annual report Ten's revenue of $676 million was the best growth since 2012.

Management said it would concentrate on reducing costs, but wanted to invest in content to maintain audience momentum. It did not give guidance.

In 2016 Ten valued its television licence at $347 million, down from $733 million in 2014.

Licence fees are automatically reissued to the three networks every five years, but annual fees are charged at 3.4 per cent of gross revenue, or about $23 million for Ten for 2016. All the networks are arguing for reductions, saying the high fees are killing their industry.

And now the market appears to be bracing for even worse results. With a market cap of just $170 million, Ten is more valuable than regional broadcaster Prime (worth $110 million), but far smaller than Nine, valued at $871 million, and Seven, worth $1.5 billion.

Network Ten had total borrowings of $90 million last August and has been paying off debt after raising $146 million from shareholders in 2015, including $77 million raised from Foxtel.

However, $55 million of this was part of a $200 million revolving cash advance facility that expires on December 23. Analysts will be asking management on Thursday if Ten has found a bank or syndicate to replace that $200 million facility.

The network's major shareholders include WIN owner Bruce Gordon, Foxtel, investment fund Lazard, James Packer, and Gina Rinehart.