Blue Ant Media is dimming the lights on music and pop culture specialty channel A.Side.

The CRTC issued a decision on Wednesday (Dec. 14) to revoke the broadcast licence of the linear channel, on the request of Blue Ant. A.Side is scheduled to go dark on Jan. 15, 2023.

The company decided to close A.Side in order to focus on other priorities in global streaming and other Canadian television operations, a spokesperson for Blue Ant Media tells Playback Daily, adding that there will be no job losses as a result of the closure.

The channel initially launched in 2009 as Aux, which was owned by Glassbox Television before the company was acquired by Blue Ant Media in 2011, with a focus on highlighting emerging artists and indie music in Canada.

Blue Ant rebranded it to A.Side as a multi-platform brand in 2017 in partnership with Shed Creative Agency (rebranded to Universal Music Group for Brands earlier this year), which would handle sponsorships and branded content. The A.Side website has been inactive since 2020, and the current A.Side schedule includes programming from other Blue Ant Media-owned channels.

The CRTC also issued a decision to revoke the broadcast licence of Leafs Nation Network on the request of the Toronto Maple Leafs Network. The channel has already gone dark as of Sept. 1.

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