Al-Jazeera to Break into English Market

The Globe and Mail reports that Al-Jazeera will attempt the launch of an English language satellite station, broadcast from its home country of Qatar. The satellite network took only a few years to dominate Arab and Muslim country news programming, sweeping away the local dominance of other government-run channels, which tended to have all the charm of early Soviet propaganda television.

Jazeera has come under pressure from many governments, in the Middle East mostly for critical coverage of domestic governance, and some in the West accusing the channel of ginning up ratings by garishly exploiting populist anger at civilian casualties in the Middle East. Most threatening to the network have been rumblings from Qatar, the home country and bankroll for the still unprofitable network. Having a U.S. presence may diversify the network’s options if it finds itself unwelcome in its homeland.

The addition of a one-billion-strong English speaking market may prove a boon to its advertising sales efforts as well. Already, the brunt of its web traffic comes from the U.S. That American market could prove lucrative, although U.S. advertisers have proven very shy about advertising on controversial vehicles.