Publishers Clearing House was a dream for folks of a certain age.

Through the 1980s and into the 1990s it was not uncommon to see the commercials on television of folks being surprised at their door with an oversized $1 million dollar check.

Your mom or grandmother, maybe even you, probably dreamed of getting that big old check.

And, believe it or not, plenty of folks did get the knock from Publishers Clearing House as it reportedly paid out more than $618 million in prizes while also reportedly donating millions to veterans’ causes and children’s hospitals.

Some folks really did live the dream, and apparently the payouts kept coming right on into recent years.

But, alas, Publishers Clearing House was fueled by the magazine industry, and that has fallen off substantially across the past 20 years or so.

According to The Street, print publication advertising revenue dropped from $20 billion in 2007 to $2.3 billion in 2023. The site said that Publishers Clearing House tried to expand to e-commerce, but it just couldn’t make up for the lost money.

And, in 2023, The Street said Publishers Clearing House was also ordered to pay out $18.5 million to customers who believed they were victims of misleading claims.

And with all of those factors coming together, Publishers Clearing House LLC is struggling to stay afloat.

According to The Street, the company filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on May 1. That motion seeks approval to sell “all or substantially all of its assets” as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, per the site.

Publishers Clearing House proposed the auction in an attempt to “preserve its intellectual property and perhaps save the brand,” the site reported. The business also reportedly got a loan from Prestige Capital Finance LLC., so that it can continue, at least for now.

Per The Street, the company’s assets included “intellectual property, an extensive customer database, and brand recognition.”

The company first field for Chapter 11 protection on April 9.

While it is attempting to stay afloat, things don’t appear to be looking good for the company that many folks dreamed might knock on their door and deliver a big old check, back in the day.