For Al Jazeera America, no endless flow of oil money

Back in July 2013, a barrel of oil was selling for around $98 in the U.S. when the Qatar-backed Al Jazeera announced with huge ambitions the launch of a cable channel in America that would rival CNN and Fox News.

Less than three years later, with oil selling for $30 a barrel on U.S. markets, the owners pulled the plug on Al Jazeera America, citing a business model that was "simply not sustainable." One knowledgeable observer estimated the total loss at nearly $2 billion.

In a memo to employees Wednesday, the network said it was shutting down by the end of April.

Al Jazeera America debuted in August 2013 to much fanfare, promising to deliver quality, in-depth content as an alternative to the shouting heads featured prominently on other cable news channels.

Backed by the riches of the Qatar government, Al Jazeera America gained its foothold in the competitive U.S. media market through the $500 million purchase of Current TV, the struggling cable news network founded by Al Gore.

But Al Jazeera hit a roadblock almost immediately when cable companies, including Time Warner Cable (TWC) and AT&T (T), refused to carry the channel, saying they had signed distribution agreements with Current TV, not Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera America also suffered from dismal ratings, despite hiring such high-profile (and presumably high-priced) on-air talent as Joie Chen, Ali Velshi and Mike Viqueira. The network eventually found its way into 60 million U.S. homes, compared to the 100 million households that have cable, but viewers rarely tuned in. Prime-time ratings sometimes struggled to hit 30,000 viewers, a paltry number compared to the big-three cable news channels. Millennials -- highly coveted by advertisers -- made up perhaps a quarter of the audience, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The network's demise reportedly was fueled by the cascading price of crude oil. A source at Al Jazeera Media Group at the company's headquarters said Al Jazeera was considering companywide cuts because of falling oil prices.

Rather than make such across-the-board cuts, the company instead opted to chop Al Jazeera America, the source said.

Internal strife contributed to the network's woes. An exodus of top executives last year along with a pair of lawsuits filed by former employees, which included complaints about sexism and anti-Semitism, only contributed to employee morale problems.

The network's founding CEO Ehab Al Shihabi, who was accused of fostering a "culture of fear," was ousted last May and replaced by Al Anstey, who had been managing director of Al Jazeera English since 2010.

Morale improved with Anstey's arrival as CEO, but it was perhaps too little too late. Ratings remained dismal, but ultimately, it appears the sinking price of oil was the network's death knell.