Al Jazeera Buys Current TV

[theworldismine13]

Al Jazeera Buys Current TV

Al Jazeera has acquired Current TV, the progressive cable news station co-founded by Al Gore.

The news was reported by the New York Times' Brian Stelter on Wednesday. Current had been aggressively looking for a buyer for some months.

Al Jazeera will replace Current's programming with its own network. The Dubai-based channel has long sought to extend the reach of its English-language service in the United States. The deal gives the network the ability to get in front of more American viewers, which has been one of its biggest challenges. Al Jazeera English launched in New York City last year, but has previously faced resistance from cable operators in other parts of the country. Though it remains controversial for many, its reporting from the Middle East during and after the Arab Spring gave it a vastly increased profile — and a new credibility — inside the US.

Sources familiar with the talks told the Times that the channel, called "Al Jazeera America," will be based in New York, with the majority of its content created in the United States. The rest of the content would come from Al Jazeera's English-language channel.

Current co-founder Joel Hyatt told staffers that he and Gore were "thrilled" about the deal. In a sign of the lingering skittishness over Al Jazeera, he said that Time Warner Cable will not carry the new channel because it had not "consented" to the acquisition.

The purchase brings to an end the many attempts by Gore and his partners to make Current viable over its seven-year existence. The network morphed repeatedly, from a center for short videos to a home for documentary reporting to its last iteration as a staunchly liberal cable news and opinion network. None of the moves proved successful enough. Host Eliot Spitzer put his finger firmly on the problem earlier in December when he told Fishbowl NY, "Nobody's watching, but I'm having a great time."

Still, the deal could benefit Gore quite a bit. Forbes estimated that the former vice president could make at least $125 million from the sale.

 

[zerozero]

tea party heads explode

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

Al Gore is a muslim plant

 

[The Real]

Another leftist plot to destroy America. Chilling...

 

[Type Username Here]

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

First he destroys our values with the internet, then he tries to raze our businesses to the ground to 'save the environment', now he's ruining our television? What American institution won't this man rape? It's so demonic friend.

 

[zerozero]

Current could have made something of itself too but Al Gore was just not the guy for this kinda enterprise

 

[The Real]

Also, the irony is that Al-Jazeera is hated in several Muslim countries, like Iran, for example, as much as it is by Tea Party types here. It's often accused of pushing Shia agendas, too.

 

[acri1]

Right wing conspiracy theorists are about to good off this

 

[jackswstd]

If the right wing wasn't pissed yet this shyt bout to make heads explode.

 

[Robbie3000]

What happens to The Young Turks?

 

[theworldismine13]

What happens to The Young Turks?

are you not seeing their name, they will fit right in

 

[88m3]

Also, the irony is that Al-Jazeera is hated in several Muslim countries, like Iran, for example, as much as it is by Tea Party types here. It's often accused of pushing Shia agendas, too.

Government Psych Op...

 

[Just like bruddas]

let it begin