Numerous outlets—including The Intercept, Politico, and The New York Times—are reporting that Al Jazeera executives have decided to shutter its U.S. cable news operation, Al Jazeera America, on April 30. According to a memo obtained by the Times’ John Koblin, the Qatari media conglomerate determined that the channel’s finances were “unsustainable”:

In a memo to the staff, Al Jazeera America’s chief executive, Al Anstey, said the “decision by Al Jazeera America’s board is driven by the fact that our business model is simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the U.S. media marketplace.”

“I know the closure of AJAM will be a massive disappointment for everyone here who has worked tirelessly for our long-term future,” he continued. “The decision that has been made is in no way because AJAM has done anything but a great job. Our commitment to great journalism is unrivaled.”

Since it went on-air in 2013—via Al Jazeera’s acquisition of Current TV—the channel has posted universally disappointing ratings, a phenomenon driven in part by its leaders’ desire to counterbalance the flashier, less thoughtful content of more popular cable news outlets. It has faced other troubles as well: Last year, for example, AJAM faced a wave of lawsuits filed by former employees, who alleged that the channel tolerated, among other things, sexist and anti-Semitic comments from managers. And it has never shaken itself of outside suspicions that its content is controlled and sometimes censored by the House of Thani, the ruling family of the State of Qatar and the channel’s largest stakeholder.

According to Brian Stelter and Tom Kludt of CNN, however, the central factor in today’s decision is the recent shock to the petroleum commodity market:

The reason for the channel’s suddenly questionable future appears to be the plunging price of oil, which dropped below $30 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time in 12 years. That’s significant because Al Jazeera America is owned by Al Jazeera Media Group, which in turn is owned by the government of Qatar.

(Qatar’s economy is almost entirely reliant upon the small country’s immense reserves of natural gas and oil, so it is particularly sensitive to price fluctuations of fossil fuels.)

AJAM’s finances were not exactly sound before today, though. According to Glenn Greenwald, who appears to have broken the news of AJAM’s demise for The Intercept, the channel “as been losing staggering sums of money from the start.” And while it’s digital division has enjoyed more successes than its cable counterpart, “all of AJAM is terminating, and both the TV and digital employees are expected to lose their jobs.”

The channel will remain on-air through April.

Image credit: Al Jazeera