Al Jazeera America, the cable television news outlet controlled by Qatar’s royal family, is shutting down less than three years after its high-profile launch, the network said on Wednesday.
The US cable network will cease operations by April 30, the network said, citing economic challenges in the American media market.
As of last summer, the network had about 800 employees, according to one former employee who asked to remain anonymous. The company declined to comment on how many employees would lose their jobs.
Al Jazeera, which is owned by Qatar-based Al Jazeera Media Network, had been trying for years to break into the US cable market when it bought Current TV, a US-based television network owned by former US Vice-President Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt, for US$500 million in 2013.
The network hired some well-known television journalists, including Soledad O’Brien and Ali Velshi from CNN, and generally has been given high marks from journalism experts for its coverage. Yet, with its Arabic name and Qatari pedigree, the network continued to struggle to find a place in the US media landscape.
“Al Jazeera America entered a crowded marketplace with a brand that had a lot of baggage,” said Merrill Brown, director of the School of Communications and Media at Montclair State University. “I don't know that they could have done anything programatically to overcome those challenges.”
While Qatar has been hit hard by declining oil prices, a spokeswoman for Al Jazeera America said the move to shut down the network was unrelated to oil.