Al Jazeera America signed off the air for good on Tuesday — but could still be on the hook for millions it promised to distribution partners, The Post has learned.
The cable channel, owned by Qatar-based media company Al Jazeera, has hired high-priced law firm Skadden Arps to fend off potential claims from cable TV providers and others that agreed to carry the channel, sources said.
Time Warner Cable and Comcast are among those that could claim to be owed millions, they said.
“As Al Jazeera America winds down its business, it has and will continue to conduct itself in a responsible and professional way,” a company spokeswoman said.
Al Jazeera America, which struggled to gain a foothold in the US, agreed to split ad revenue with some pay-TV partners to expand distribution.
Under those deals, it also committed to buy ads to promote itself and its partners, sources said.
Time Warner Cable is owed north of $50 million, according to one source, although that figure couldn’t be confirmed.
A spokesman declined comment.
Time Warner Cable struck a deal to carry Al Jazeera America several months after the network launched in August 2013, when it only reached about 45 million US homes. The financial terms of that deal were never disclosed.
The cable network — which debuted to mixed reviews and abysmal ratings more than two years ago — shut down its TV feed, but will continue to have a presence online.