The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Sept. 4, edition that Corus Entertainment has been granted a six-week extension to address its debt crisis. The Globe's Jameson Berkow writes that Corus was originally given until Sept. 1 to negotiate relief with its lenders. However, Corus recently announced that its bank group has extended the deadline to Oct. 5. This extension allows Corus to hold more debt relative to its income. Under the previous debt agreement, Corus's debt-to-EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) ratio was required to drop to a maximum of 4.25 by Sept. 1. This meant that its total debt could not exceed 4.25 times its annual operating income, a threshold that Corus was on track to surpass. The extension now permits a ratio of up to 4.75 until mid-October. However, the updated terms stipulate that any surplus cash received by Corus must be used for debt repayment. Corus is facing over $1-billion in debt that is due for repayment within the next few years, including $290-million in bank debt maturing in 2027 and $500-million in bonds due the following year. To address its financial challenges, Corus has been aggressively cutting costs.