So says Tim Casey, an analyst with BMO Nesbitt Burns, in today's Report on Business:

We would not be surprised to see the Post and Dose publications close down in this fiscal year. We ascribe no value to either asset in our valuation.

Leonard Asper, CanWest CEO, dismissed this report suggesting that Dose has at least three years to prove itself. This follows the announcement earlier in the week that Dose has started to scale back its distribution. Previously, there had been some high profile defections including the loss of Marketing Director Mark Shedletsky.

As much as we've enjoyed making fun of Dose it the past, I still think its the best free daily out there. In fact, I don't quite get why people still read the inferior Metro, or even worse, 24 Hours. Makes no sense to me.

As far as the future of Dose, I tend to believe the CEO. His comments match up with what I've heard from other sources - that CanWest is willing to absorb three years of losses on Dose before pulling the plug.

Photo: LexnGer