[LINK] "Sun News on 8 week Deathwatch"

[rfmcdonald]

Canadaland's Jesse Brown reported late last week that the Sun News Network--Canada's indigenous right-wing television network, famed for its very low viewership--might end imminently if it can't find a buyer.

Multiple sources tell CANADALAND that Sun News Network (SNN), the Quebecor-owned cable news channel that launched in 2011, is on the verge of closing.

This follows a December report by James Bradshaw in the Globe and Mail that Moses Znaimer, the media entrepreneur who runs ZoomerMedia Ltd., held exclusive negotiations with Quebecor to buy SNN. In recent weeks, sources tell CANADALAND, negotiations between Zoomer and Quebecor have hit an impasse.

SNN Vice President Kory Teneycke declined to comment on the acquisition. Quebecor VP of Public Affairs Martin Tremblay tells CANADALAND, "It is our policy not to comment on rumors or speculations about the company's assets."

Several SNN employees have learned that Quebecor could choose to dissolve the network within as little as two months, if a deal with Zoomer is not reached. Sources inside SNN tell CANADALAND that attempts to find other interested buyers have so far yielded no serious results.

As recently as three weeks ago, sources say that SNN management told several employees that negotiations with Zoomer looked promising and that a deal was close. But a dispute over potential severance packages for SNN executives (including Teneycke) who would not continue on with the network in the event of an acquisition has led to an impasse.