VIA EUTELSAT :: Al Jazeera English, the new international news and current affairs channel, launches November 15 on three Eutelsat satellites

Al Jazeera, one of the most widely watched and respected networks in the Middle East, has launched Al Jazeera English, a new international news & current affairs channel, via EUROBIRD™ 1, EUROBIRD™ 2 and HOT BIRD™ 6.

Since it began broadcasting in 1996, Al Jazeera has built an independent reputation within the Persian Gulf and achieved a global profile, reporting on world events from the heart of the region. The launch of Al Jazeera English, to some 80 million households, opens up the network to the English-speaking world, giving the west a first-hand account of where the channel truly stands in reporting local and global events.

A unique view of the world
Lindsey Oliver, Commercial Director for the channel, provided us with an insight to the objectives for launching Al Jazeera English; "Never before has there been such an intense political, intellectual, and market-based interest in either the Arab world, or in a news outlet that can offer a unique grassroots view of global current events. In recent years there have been ground-breaking developments in the Arab world that have encouraged growth of a free media, and we intend to build on this by bringing a fresh perspective on regional and global news from a unique viewpoint."

Regarding the channel's news coverage, Oliver adds; "We are a global television network based in the Middle East, but Al Jazeera English will be truly international, offering news regularly from under-reported parts of the world, including places like Africa and China. Our main focus is to seek out and cover different perspectives of news through grassroots reporting wherever news is made, and to impartially present these stories to the English-speaking world."

Broadcast through four centres
With a de-centralized editorial structure, Al Jazeera English broadcasts live from four operational centres around the world - Doha , Kuala Lumpur , London and Washington DC , over a 24-hour period. Each broadcast centre 'carries' the network for several hours a day and take its editorial control from that location, with global transmission coming through Doha . Within each hour-long segment, the first half is devoted to news and the second half to feature, documentary and interactive programming.

The channel is available on pay-TV platforms in major markets such as the UK , France and Germany , and is available in High Definition, where requested by a platform operator. Revenues will come from carriage fees, syndication and advertising.

Eutelsat broadcasts the new channel via EUROBIRDT 1 at 28.5° East, EUROBIRDT 2 at 25.5° East and HOT BIRDT 6 at 13° East to viewers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East .

:: see the other Via Eutelsat stories