Loop News Shuts Down After 11 Years; SportsMax to Cease Operations by August

Loop News a renowned Caribbean Digital News Platform has shut down its operations from today immediately after Digicel, its parent telecommunications company announced the closure. Digicel also announced the closure of its Caribbean sports broadcasting website ‘Sports Max’ as well by August.  

This sudden shut down of Loop news which served the people of Caribbean from last 11 years has left a void in Caribbean journalism and enthusiastic journalist who see this closure as a major setback. While announcing its closure Loop news expressed the pride they had in serving the people of Caribbean.  

“We’re proud of what we have achieved and of the people who came on the journey with us,” wrote Loop News.  

Loop News was launched in 2014 and since then it has positioned itself as a strong and trustworthy regional media source covering different regions across the Caribbean including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Lucia and other Caribbean nations.  

Loop Caribbean has been honoured for with several awards and recognitions for its trustworthiness and building a passionate and engaged community of readers and viewers.  

“As we reflect on over a decade of journalism and community impact, we are deeply grateful for the relationships we have built and the stories we have told,” said Loop news in the statement released.  

Further in its statement, the Caribbean news outlet said that its closure marks the end of an era. They further said that it wasn’t an easy decision but believed that it was the right one for the moment.  

The media outlet then thanked its audience for their support while they bid their finally goodbye by quoting, ‘Walk Good’.  

This is to be noted that Loop News was aggressively active till yesterday or even a few hours ago until Digicel announced the closure. The website had been publishing articles with as recent as two hours ago, however the announcement has sent everyone across the Caribbean in shock.  

Will jobs of employees at Loop News be affected?  

Digicel through its release has confirmed that the staff working for Loop News and Sports Max will be receiving support from their end following the sudden closure. They acknowledged that the staff is being informed of the development, and they would be receiving transition support according to the local labour laws. 

Netizens react in shock and disappointment  

Following the announcement of Loop’s closure from the digital media industry netizens have been expressing their shock and disappointment through posts made on social media and comments on the platforms.  

A user named Maxine Isis while sharing her views said, “Seems like this is linked to the breakdown of their telecoms ecosystem profitability and cannot be judged in isolation as a media. A lot of these entities are tied to other earnings features so when those falter there is a natural break."

Another user named Nicole Phillip said, “Some of the most talented and hardest working people I know in that industry were attached to Loop/Trend.”