The Blaze, founded by conservative commentator Glenn Beck, will end its run on cable TV at the end of this year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Blaze Media the conservative multimedia firm birthed from a merger between Beck's The Blaze and Conservative Review TV, will still continue to publish content on its digital platforms including podcasts, video on demand services, its websites and radio presence.
The Blaze, based in Irving, Texas, chose to notify cable companies the channel would "cease to exist" due to contracts that prevented the media company from posting content content that aired on TV online, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Blaze Media's business model has largely centered around its online product in recent years.
"Given our record growth this year on our direct-to-consumer SVOD business, podcasts, various web properties and other digital distribution channels, it has become a conflict to continue programming a traditional, legacy cable channel," Blaze Media CEO Tyler Cardon told The Hollywood Reporter.
Blaze TV was launched in 2011 and has been operated from Mercury Studios in Irving. When Beck launched The Blaze he had aspirations of one day rivaling Fox News � his former employer. The conservative digital media space has since grown to include a crowded roster of outlets like Ben Shapiro's The Daily Wire, and Beck's growth never really hit its stride.
In 2017, Beck laid off roughly 20% of the staff at The Blaze calling it an "an important first step in getting to where we are going." Following the layoffs, Beck claimed the company had become profitable again leading up to its merger with CRTV last year.
