Lebanon PM closes TV channel run by his family over funding
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's prime minister said Wednesday he will temporarily close a TV network owned by his family, following a years-long financial struggle.
In a statement, Saad Hariri described the move as a suspension of work until the Future TV network could be re-launched after a financial restructuring.
Employees at the station had been staging strikes for months over unpaid wages. The station was launched in 1993 by Hariri's father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated by a massive truck bomb in 2005.
Earlier this year, Hariri ceased the print edition of Al-Mustaqbal newspaper, also owned by his family, turning it into a digital newspaper.
Several Lebanese newspapers have stopped printing in recent years as they struggle to compete with digital media.
