Sun News Network (commonly shortened to Sun News) was a Canadian English language Category C news channel owned by Québecor Média through a partnership between two of its subsidiaries, TVA Group (which maintained 51% majority ownership of the company) and Sun Media Corporation (which held the remaining 49% interest)."Quebecor fires warning shot at all-news networks", from Globe and Mail, June 15, 2010Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-882, published 11/26/2010 The channel was launched on April 18, 2011 in standard and high definition"Sun News Network rises today," from torontosun.com, 4/18/2011 and shut down February 13, 2015. It operated under a Category 2 (later classified as Category C) licence granted by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in November 2010,"CRTC gives green light to Sun TV," from The Globe and Mail, November 26, 2010"Sun TV’s conservative 24-hour news service gets the green light", Toronto Star, November 26, 2010 after the network aborted a highly publicized attempt for a Category 1 licence (later classified as Category A) that would have given it mandatory access on digital cable and satellite providers across Canada.
Sun News was distributed by most major cable and satellite providers across Canada but was included in channel tiers subscribed by only 40% of all Canadian households (5.1 million homes with a pay television subscription)."Sun TV's abandonment of principles is TV comedy gold," from The Globe and Mail, 4/27/2013 Quebecor had sought wider distribution for Sun News since its launch,"Sun News Network launches with anchor as Sunshine Girl," from The Globe and Mail, 4/18/2011 most notably making an unsuccessful request for mandatory carriage on basic cable and satellite tiers in 2013."Sun News Network’s fate unknown after CRTC rejects bid to be carried on basic cable," from Toronto Star, 8/8/2013 Sun News was simulcast on CKXT-DT (channel 51), a general entertainment independent television station based in Toronto (with repeaters in Southern and Eastern Ontario) that was branded as "Sun TV" before it began simulcasting Sun News from the network's launch until Quebecor surrendered the CKXT licence in the fall of 2011. The existence of Sun TV prior to Sun News (and the fact a similar on-screen logo was used for the CKXT venture) has resulted in Sun News sometimes being erroneously referred to as "Sun TV".
The network, known for its right-of-centre editorial stance, was plagued with poor viewership: the network reported an average of 8,000 viewers, which was significantly lower than its competitors, CBC News Network and CTV News Channel. This lack of viewership has been attributed in part to failing to gain mandatory carriage, which their competitors enjoyed, by the CRTC. Following failed attempts to sell the network to ZoomerMedia (a company owned by Canadian television executive Moses Znaimer) and Leonard Asper, Sun News Network abruptly signed off on February 13, 2015 at 5:00 a.m. ET.
History
Licensing
From the start of its licensing attempts for Sun News, Quebecor intended for the network to replace the company's existing licence for general entertainment independent station CKXT-TV (branded as "Sun TV"), which was available at the time over-the-air in Toronto and through relayed through rebroadcasters in Hamilton, London and Ottawa. In its initial submission to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in the spring of 2010, Quebecor requested that Sun News be awarded a Category 1 digital specialty channel licence that would have reverted to Category 2 status after three years. The Category 1 status, if the CRTC had approved it, would have given Sun News the same status as CTV News Channel and CBC News Network, in that it would have required all Canadian digital television providers (both cable and direct broadcast satellite) to carry and offer Sun News to their customers should those carriers have the capability to do so. However, unlike CTV News Channel and CBC News Network, carriers would not have had the ability to distribute Sun News via analogue cable, only through their digital service (a Category 1 status would not have made the channel a compulsory part of every customer's basic digital package; however, it could be placed in digital basic packages subject to negotiations between Sun News and individual television providers).Public Notice CRTC 2000-6, January 13, 2000
Quebecor initially requested Category 1 status for Sun News on the basis that the channel's combination of news, analysis and opinion programming would create "a completely new [TV] genre" different from the other all-news channels in Canada. The CRTC disagreed, however, and turned down the application in a July 5, 2010 letter to Quebecor. In its letter, the CRTC noted that Sun News was being promoted in part as a news channel, and suggested that "news and analysis are sub-categories of the information programming category," which therefore would not, in the CRTC's eyes, make Sun News unique."CRTC refuses Sun TV’s bid for preferred status on dial". The Globe and Mail, July 15, 2010. Additionally, the CRTC had stated earlier in 2010 that it was not planning to entertain any new applications for Category 1 licences until at least October 2011.Broadcasting Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-198, March 31, 2010. This bulletin's references to "Category A" licences are in relation to a proposed new category which would include both legacy analogue and current Category 1 digital services (see also Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-100). International activist organization Avaaz.org and other organizations filed petitions containing over 21,000 signatures to the CRTC to have the channel denied its Category 1 status application and its abolition under "breach of trust allegations" and "diminished news information integrity".
After the CRTC declined the Category 1 application, an online petition titled "Stop Fox News North" was established. The petition claimed that Prime Minister Stephen Harper sought to "push American-style hate media onto [Canadian] airwaves" with Sun News, and that the network would be "funded with money from our cable TV fees" (in contradiction to the "mandatory access" request in Quebecor's second CRTC application); the petition also cited Martin's column as evidence that CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein was the "one man" standing in the way of Sun News getting a preferential licence."Activist group Avaaz files 21,000-name petition against Sun TV", from Canadian Press via cbc.ca, 10/1/2010 Author Margaret Atwood was among the petition signatories, revealing she signed it not as a criticism of Sun News' possible right-wing agenda but as a criticism of Harper's style of government, particularly perceived attempts by his government to expedite Sun News' licence approval."Margaret Atwood takes on ‘Fox News North’", Ottawa Notebook blog posting by Jane Taber from globeandmail.com, 9/1/2010
Quebecor resubmitted its Sun News application under Category 2 status. Though Category 2 is not mandatory (cable and satellite carriers are not compelled to carry such channels), Quebecor included in its resubmission a request for a Category 1-style "mandatory access" period of no more than three years, insisting that the network would need that period of time "to effectively expose and promote its programming to viewers across Canada" without obliging cable and satellite customers to add it to their package;"Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-649", from the CRTC website, posted 9/1/2010. without mandatory access, Quebecor added, cable and satellite carriers could choose not to offer Sun News to their customers, which could lead to Quebecor pulling the plug on the project."Quebecor not giving up on application for must-carry Sun TV News", from The Wire Report, posted 9/1/2010 and accessed 9/9/2010
On October 5, 2010, Quebecor announced that it was withdrawing its mandatory access request and applied for a normal Category 2 status without any special exceptions or carriage conditions."Sun TV gears down licence application", from globeandmail.com, 10/5/2010 The move was widely considered an easier avenue for Sun News' licence approval (Category 2 licences are routinely granted by the CRTC unless it is for a format considered a protected genre, of which national news channels are not included). The CRTC granted Quebecor a five-year Category 2 licence for Sun News on November 26, 2010;"Sun TV News to cater to conservative viewers, new channel's head says", from Financial Post, 11/26/2010. the network's status was changed to a Category C service on September 1, 2011, as part of an overall restructuring of broadcasting regulations during Canada's transition to digital television broadcasting.Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-931 from the CRTC, dated 12/10/2010
Launch After a planned launch on January 1, 2011, was pushed back because of start-up and staffing challenges,"Timeline: Sun News", from National Post, 4/18/2011 Sun News launched on April 18, 2011, with a ten-hour countdown clock that ended when regular programming began at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. O Canada was played before a half-hour launch preview special hosted by Canada Live journalist and host Krista Erickson (who served as the Sun newspapers' "Sunshine Girl" for the day). The special was followed by the premiere of The Source with Ezra Levant, and the remainder of the network's prime-time talk programming. Daytime news programs debuted the following day on April 19. Sun News was based in studios in Toronto, with additional studios located in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Calgary. Sun News also maintained news bureaus in Edmonton (shared with Sun Media), Montreal (shared with QMI Agency) and Washington, D.C., the only bureau it maintained outside of Canada."Sun News sets up shop in Washington", from SunNewsNetwork.ca, posted 11/22/2011
Closure Sun News Network struggled financially, losing $46.7 million over a three-year period, with a loss of $14.8 million in 2013 alone.
The channel was generally regarded as being symbiotic with Sun Media's newspapers through its shared editorial viewpoints and the network's use of Sun Media staff for some of its on-air content and reporting as well as through various Sun News Network hosts writing columns for the Sun chain. This relationship was expected to change as a result of Quebecor's proposed sale of Sun Media's English-language print properties and their related websites to Postmedia Network, a deal announced in October 2014 and awaiting regulatory approval and consummation."Quebecor sells 175 Sun Media newspapers and websites to Postmedia", from CBC News, 10/6/2014 Though Sun News was not part of the deal, Postmedia said that it would license the Sun name and branding back to the network for one year, after which the network would have to adopt a new brand."Quebecor Inc turns focus to wireless as Postmedia deal ends newspaper ambitions", from Financial Post, 10/6/2014 Quebecor's divestment of Sun Media raised questions about Sun News Network's viability as a standalone operation under the Quebecor umbrella, as most of the company's remaining properties are entirely francophone, which could limit any synergy potential.