AlJaz has been looking for an in with American providers for awhile now. Most domestic carriers (including the biggies - Comcast, DirecTV & Dish) already carry Current, so this would help them tremendously. I already watch AlJaz once in awhile on my Roku, and I have to say that politics aside, it would be a welcome addition to the domestic news landscape -- especially given how much the domestic news channels (CNN/FNC/MSNBC) ignore international news...
On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 5:12 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm sure no one is going to talk on the record (cough, cough) but it > appears Bohrman's network is on the block... > > -Deb > > > http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/al-jazeera-said-to-be-acquiring-current-tv/ > > Al Jazeera Is Said to Be Acquiring Current TV > By BRIAN STELTER > > Al Jazeera is putting the final touches on a deal to take over Current TV, > the low-rated cable channel that was founded by Al Gore and his business > partners seven years ago. > > If the deal is completed, Current will provide the pan-Arab news giant > with something it has sought for years: a pathway into American living > rooms. Current is available in about 60 million of the 100 million homes in > the United States with cable or satellite service. > > Rather than simply use Current to distribute its English-language channel, > called Al Jazeera English and based in Doha, Qatar, Al Jazeera will create > a new channel based in New York, according to people with knowledge of the > deal negotiations. The channel may be called Al Jazeera America. Roughly 60 > percent of the programming will be produced in the United States, while the > remaining 40 percent will come from Al Jazeera English. > > Al Jazeera may absorb some Current TV staff members, according to the > people, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak > publicly. But Current’s schedule of shows will most likely be dissolved in > the spring. > > The plan will bring Al Jazeera, which is financed by the government of > Qatar, into closer competition with CNN and other news channels in the > United States. > > To date, the country’s cable and satellite distributors have been > reluctant to carry Al Jazeera English. It is available in just a handful of > cities, including New York and Washington. To change that, Al Jazeera has > lobbied distributors, called for a letter-writing campaign by supporters > and promoted its widely praised coverage of the Arab Spring. > > Acquiring Current TV, and thus its distribution deals across the country, > would solve this dilemma for Al Jazeera, at least partially. > > Current is hard to find on many cable lineups, and some analysts say it’s > at risk of being dropped by some companies because of low ratings, but it > would give Al Jazeera a foothold on the country’s cable and satellite > service lineups. Then Al Jazeera could revamp the channel and promote it as > a new American-based news source. > > Representatives for Current TV and Al Jazeera did not immediately respond > to requests for comment. There was no immediate word about the sale price. > > Current was conceived in 2005 after Mr. Gore and another co-founder, Joel > Hyatt, bought the small cable news channel Newsworld International. > Current’s owners, along with Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, include several > venture capital firms and two major distributors, Comcast and DirecTV. > > After several years in obscurity showing viewer-submitted videos and > documentaries, Current tacked to the left in 2011 with the hiring of > MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. A year later, Mr. Olbermann was fired, but a > liberal minded channel made in his image remained. The channel now > simulcasts liberal radio shows in the morning and features news-talk shows > in the evening by Joy Behar, Eliot Spitzer, Jennifer Granholm and others. > > None of the shows have drawn significant audiences. On a typical night in > 2012, about 42,000 people were watching the channel, according to Nielsen. > Mr. Spitzer quipped to a reporter from Mediabistro last month, “Nobody’s > watching, but I’m having a great time.” > > At the end of October, Current confirmed that it was considering selling > itself. Mr. Hyatt said in a statement at the time, “Current has been > approached many times by media companies interested in acquiring our > company. This year alone, we have had three inquiries. As a consequence, we > thought it might be useful to engage expertise to help us evaluate our > strategic options.” > > Since then, uncertainty has plagued the staff of Current, which is based > in San Francisco. Mr. Spitzer, the 8 p.m. host, remarked that someone > needed to buy the channel. Ms. Granholm, the 9 p.m. host, renewed her > contract for just three months. Plans for new programming at other hours > have stalled. After the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., the > channel replayed the gun documentary “Bowling for Columbine” dozens of > times. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "World News Now Discussion List" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en.
