TORONTO, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Canada's Sun News Network, a right-of-center cable news channel, went off the air Friday after attempts to sell the television network failed.
Known as "Fox News North" for its conservative and confrontational journalistic stance, Sun News Network began in 2011 with a plan to balance what some perceived as a liberal bias in Canadian media. Its low budget limited the amount of reporting it could offer, and much of its airtime was dedicated to comment on new events.
A declining audience base and a 2013 ruling by the Canadian Radio-Television and Communications Commission (CRTC) denying it a guaranteed place on basic cable TV packages led to attempts to sell the network. When those attempts failed, the channel went off the air abruptly, at 5 a.m. Friday, showing only its logo on the screen.
Although it was available to 5.1 million viewers, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. claimed it had eight times Sun Networks' viewership. Information submitted to CRTC indicated the network lost $17 million Canadian dollars ($13.6 million) in 2012 and $14.8 million ($11.88 million) in 2013.
