Al Jazeera English (PatrZDZ's vision)

**Al Jazeera English** (**AJE**, literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is owned by the monarchy government of Qatar. It is the first English-language news channel to be headquartered in Western Asia. Instead of being run centrally, news management rotates between broadcasting centres in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington D.C.

## History

The channel was launched on 15 November 2006, at 12:00 PM GMT. It had aimed to begin broadcasting in June 2006 but had to postpone its launch because its HDTV technology was not yet ready. The channel was due to be called Al Jazeera International, but the name was changed nine months before the launch because one of the channel's backers argued that the original Arabic-language channel already had an international scope.

The channel was anticipated to reach around 40 million households, but it far exceeded that launch target, reaching 80 million homes. By 2009, the service could be viewed in every major European market and was available to 130 million homes in over 100 countries via cable and satellite, according to a spokeswoman for the network in Washington.

The channel, however, has poor penetration in the American market, where it has been carried by only one satellite service and a small number of cable networks. Al Jazeera English later began a campaign to enter the North American market, including a dedicated website. It became available to some cable subscribers in New York in August 2011, having previously been available as an option for some viewers in Washington, D.C., Ohio and Los Angeles. The channel primarily reaches the United States via its live online streaming. It is readily available on most major Canadian television providers including Rogers and Bell Satellite TV after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the channel for distribution in Canada on 26 November 2009.

The channel may also be viewed online. It recommends online viewing at its own website or at its channel on YouTube. Al Jazeera English HD launched in the United Kingdom on Freeview on 26 November 2013, and began streaming in HD on YouTube in 2015.

On 1 January 2020, Al Jazeera English debuted a new major graphics package for the first time since the channel launched to coincide with remodeled main Doha studio, the last main studio of the channel's four in Doha, London, and Washington D.C. to receive an upgrade since the channel's launch in 2006.

### Al Jazeera UK

In 2014, Al Jazeera moved its UK London operations including its newsroom, studios and shows from Knightsbridge to its new space on floor 16 of The Shard. The last day of broadcasting from the Knightsbridge studios was September, 12th 2014. The space was officially opened on 3 November 2014, with the first Newshour broadcast on 10 October 2014. The new facility is capable of running an entire channel, independently of the Doha hub.

In 2013 Al Jazeera Media Network began planning a new channel called Al Jazeera UK. If launched, the British channel would broadcast for five hours during prime time as cut-in UK content aired on Al Jazeera English.

In 2006, producers and composers Yaniv Fridel and Chris Deliggianis were the main composers who wrote and produced the Al Jazeera English theme music five-note sonic logo for the channel branding including the main news program and channel package.

## Programmes

Regular/recurrent programmes on the channel are:

* 101 East - the weekly documentary strand for issues of particular importance across Asia and for people of Asian origins elsewhere.
* 48 - "In one city with only 48 hours, Amanda Palmer shows you the highs and lows of city living."
* Everywoman - the first show of its kind from the Middle East to put women’s issues at its core. Its strong stories with universal appeal ensure that this is compelling viewing for men and women alike.
* The Fabulous Picture Show - offers some interviews and reports on movies, actors and directors.
* Head To Head – A tough questioning interview programme presented by Mehdi Hasan. Mostly filmed at Oxford Union.
* Inside Story - analysis, background, and context on the day's top story
* Listening Post - hosted by Richard Gizbert; Al Jazeera English revisits and reviews how other news organizations covered the news that week and presents viewer-submitted news
* News:
	+ World news live from Al Jazeera's Kuala Lumpur broadcast centre
	+ World news live from Al Jazeera's Doha broadcast centre
	+ World news live from Al Jazeera's London broadcast centre
	+ World news live from Al Jazeera's Washington DC broadcast centre
	+ Newshour - an hour of world news jointly presented by the four broadcast centres linked together live
* News Review - Al Jazeera English reviews/recaps the news of the day
* People & Power - biweekly programme hosted by Shereen El Feki; "'People & Power' is about power in the 21st century - who has it, who wants it and how it is being used - and abused."
* Sportsworld - a daily sports programme hosted on rotation by members of Al Jazeera's sports team
* Talk to Al Jazeera – extended studio interviews with people of influence from around the world
* The Bottom Line - a weekly discussion show moderated by Steven Clemons at the Al Jazeera's studios in Washington, DC. With different guests each week, the show delves into "the big issues" facing American society.
* The Stream – a discussion programme focused on social media, daily from Monday to Thursday. Hosted by Femi Oke and Malika Bilal, usually with one guest in the studio and a couple on Skype. An issue, itself often viewer-generated, is discussed by the team and viewers can contribute with comments on Twitter or Facebook, with some occasionally invited to join in on Skype.
* Witness - documentary-slot for films by the best of the world's independent film-makers. The strand aims to shine a light on the events and people long-forgotten by the global media and on those that never merited a mention in the first place.

In addition to the above, Al Jazeera English runs various programmes that are either entirely non-recurrent or consist of just a limited number of parts (miniseries format).

## International bureaux

In addition to the four broadcast centres, Al Jazeera English has 21 supporting bureaux which will gather and produce news. It share the resources of the Arabic language channel's 42 bureaux and Al Jazeera Balkans bureaux.

## Availability

The channel is available in many countries, mostly via satellite, sometimes via cable. The channel is also available online. Al Jazeera English provides a free HD stream on its website for unlimited viewing. It is available free worldwide. They also provide a free stream on their YouTube page. Previously, before Al Jazeera provided an official stream, a low quality RealVideo stream was available for viewing. Al Jazeera news segments are frequently included on the American public television program Worldfocus. Al Jazeera can also be streamed on any iOS or Android device with an internet connection using a free application.

Al Jazeera English is also available on connected TV and OTT streaming services like Pluto TV and Haystack News.

Along with a free unlimited high-quality stream on the official Al Jazeera English website, Online subscriptions allowing unlimited viewing may be purchased from Jump TV, RealPlayer, and VDC. Headlines from Al Jazeera English are available on Twitter.

Al Jazeera English's website also contains news reports and full episodes of their programs that can be viewed for free on their website. The videos are hosted by YouTube, where viewers can also go to find the videos.

### Europe

Al Jazeera English is available in the UK and Ireland on Freeview channel 235, Sky channels 513 and 880, Freesat channel 203 and Virgin Media channel 622.

The channel initially began test streaming Al Jazeera English (then called "Al Jazeera International") in March 2006 on Hot Bird, Astra 1E, Hispasat, AsiaSat3S, Eutelsat 28A and Panamsat PAS 10. Telenors Thor, Türksat and Eutelsat 25A were added to the satellites carrying it. Eutelsat 28A carried the test stream on frequency 11.681 under the name "AJI".

### Africa

Al Jazeera English is available in Sub-Saharan Africa mainly via DStv and StarTimes' satellite and terrestrial TV platforms. It is also available FTA on satellites like Belintersat 51.5°E and Nilesat 201. In Northern Africa, Al Jazeera English is available on telcos like Etisalat. It is also available via satellite, on Badr°26E and various local cable operators.

### Oceania

In New Zealand, Al Jazeera English is available 24 hours a day on Freeview (New Zealand) channel 16 and Sky (New Zealand) channel 90. From October 2013, Freeview (New Zealand) broadcast on the Kordia operated free-to-air DVB-T terrestrial network. Prior to the December 2012 analog switchoff Triangle TV re-broadcast various Al Jazeera programmes in Auckland on its free-to-air UHF channel. TV One was going to replace BBC World News with this service during their off-air hours of 01:30 to 06:00 from 1 April 2013, however opted to run infomercials instead.

### Asia

On 7 December 2010, Al Jazeera said its English language service has got a downlink license to broadcast in India. Satellite and cable companies would therefore be allowed to broadcast Al Jazeera in the country. The channel launched on Dish TV in November 2011, and is considering a Hindi-language channel. Tata Play satellite service broadcasts this on Channel 637 (SD) in India.

### Americas

On 26 November 2009, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved "a request to add Al Jazeera English (AJE) to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis and amends the lists of eligible satellite services accordingly". Al Jazeera English became available on Rogers Cable and Bell Satellite TV on 4 May 2010.

Al Jazeera English is available via satellite across all of North America free to air via Globecast on Galaxy 19 on the Ku band in DVB format. Initallly, only a small number of Americans were able to watch the channel on their televisions. Among the markets where it was available are Bristol County, Rhode Island, Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio, Burlington, Vermont, Houston, Texas, and Washington, DC. On 1 August 2011, Al Jazeera English became available on Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FIOS and two major American satellite providers, DirecTV and Dish Network.