TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — CTi News will disappear from television Channel 52 on Friday (Dec. 11) night after the Supreme Administrative Court rejected its final appeal against the National Communications Commission (NCC) decision not to renew the broadcaster’s license.

Under the ownership of food tycoon Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) and his Want Want China Times, the news channel built up a reputation for strong pro-China views, leading to the Nov. 18 NCC decision not to renew its license for the next six years.

Despite protests from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) alleging political interference and censorship of anti-government media, the court on Friday ruled against CTiTV’s appeal, paving the way for the removal of its news channel from TV screens at the end of the day, CNA reported.

CTi News will continue online, while the company’s other channels, which are less focused on news and more on entertainment, will continue to be broadcast as before.

From Saturday (Dec. 12) morning, Channel 52 will be empty, but several distributors have already started the application process to fill up the space, CNA reported. The list of stations hoping to occupy the channel includes Chinese-language Global News (寰宇新聞台), CNN, and English-language France 24.