The controversial Sun News Network has signed an agreement with Bell guaranteeing it a spot on the media company’s basic satellite and Fibe TV services.
The company announced Wednesday it had also signed an agreement with Bell Aliant that, according to the Sun newspapers, will bring the channel into an additional 150,000 households in the Maritimes and northern Ontario.
Sun News was recently handed a lifeline by Canada’s telecom regulator, the CRTC, which last December ordered Canadian TV providers to provide all available news channels as part of any news bundle they offer, and to offer all news channels a la carte as well.
The move was a partial victory for Sun News, which had originally petitioned the CRTC to be made a “mandatory carriage” that would appear on all basic cable and satellite services. The CRTC rejected that request last summer.
"This is a great way to celebrate the third anniversary of Sun News, and we thank our distribution partners at Bell TV and Bell Aliant," Sun News Vice President Kory Teneycke said in a statement.
Sun News has struggled financially in the three years since it launched, offering a blend of news and opinion that many likened to Fox News. The network blamed the reluctance of cable and satellite carriers to offer the channel for its low ratings.
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