In its brief TV life, Al Jazeera America lost more than half a billion dollars. That’s according to a lawsuit filed by the former evp of finance Anand Gupta.
According to the New York Times, Gupta is suing the now-defunct network for not being given a promised promotion. Gupta claims former network chief Ehab Al Shihabi, who was sidelined in May 2015 after being named in another employee lawsuit, promised him a promotion to CFO, but that his successor Al Antsey reneged. Gupta’s suit includes financial details including that the network had an operating loss of $250 million in 2013, and $335 million in 2014.
In the suit, Mr. Gupta asserts that, among other freewheeling spending habits, the network continued to pay more than $11,000 a month for an apartment intended for Mr. Shihabi, which went empty after he was ousted last year. It also asserts that Al Jazeera America is responsible for more than $800 million in the process of winding down, if it pays out its contracts to cable operators in full.
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“We strongly disagree with the allegations made in Mr. Gupta’s complaint, which contains many factual inaccuracies,” said Molly Morse, a spokeswoman for Al Jazeera America. “We intend to vigorously defend the company’s position.”
AJAM shut down April 13 after less than three years on the air.