Studio Nue
However, by 1981 Wiz had gone out of business and the "Megaload/Megaroad" ("Macross") project seemed to be in permanent hiatus. Studio Nue bought the rights of the show from "Wiz" and searched for a sponsor with no avail. Big West, an advertising agency looking to branch out into animation sponsorship, approached Studio Nue about the project and agreed to sponsor it. Big West insisted on a leaner budget, not convinced that the show would pan out as profitable and pared the episode count to 27 episodes (meaning the show would have ended with the battle against Boddole Zer's fleet). Even then, Big West found that the show was going to run more expensive than it had bargained for, and to secure more money, entered into a partnership with animation studio Tatsunoko Production which included international distribution (what would culminate in the creation of the "Robotech" adaptation a few years later).