Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Al Jazeera English launches in New York ... International news channel reaching NY homes through Time Warner Cable.

(August 1, 2011 - New York) Al Jazeera English has become available for the first time to cable television viewers across New York.

Two million subscribers to Time Warner Cable (Channel 92) and Verizon FiOS in the New York City region will be able to tune into global news coverage all day and through the night. This has been made possible through cooperation with Regional News Network (RNN) on their RISE channel.

Al Jazeera English hailed the launch, which they said brings 'international news to an international city'. The global news channel also released statistics on the large number of New Yorkers who are already regularly tuning into them through the internet.

'We're delighted to now be on televisions across New York,' said Al Anstey, Al Jazeera English's Managing Director. 'This launch has been fueled by viewer demand. We are already part of the media landscape here, with one in ten people having got information on events in America and the world from our website this year alone. We get more web traffic from New York than any other city on earth. Half a million New Yorkers are classed as regular visitors. Ever since our establishment, we've been committed to coverage of America and New York with a large bureau and team of journalists based in the city, so we're delighted to now be broadcasting global news onto televisions throughout the global melting pot that is New York.'

RNN, a privately owned, New York-based news and talk television network that reaches 6 million households in the tri-state area alone will also plan to air Al Jazeera English on WRNN-TV weekdays at 5pm EST, leading into the Emmy-Award winning 'Richard French Live'.

'Since 1993, Regional News Network has proudly served the tri-state area with original and compelling programming,' said RNN President Dick French. 'We are thrilled to be working with Al Jazeera English to meet the demand that exists for more international news in the New York City area, one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse in the world. Al Jazeera English has a clear commitment to telling stories from often underreported regions from Latin America, through Africa and the Middle East to Asia and the Far East. We're sure New Yorkers will appreciate its presence in the lineup of channels.'

Al Jazeera English is truly an international network, holding 70 bureaus around the world which span six different continents. The channel’s content is already on air across the US in places like Washington DC, Los Angeles and Ohio; and it can also be viewed across Latin America and Canada.

Since February, cable and satellite providers have received more than 70,000 emails from Americans asking for access to the channel, with among the highest percentage of these emails coming from New York.

Al Jazeera English was established in 2006 as part of the Al Jazeera Network, with its own content - editors and journalists reaching a global English-speaking audience which currently stands at over 250 million households across 130 countries. The channel has continued to grow in reach and popularity, and has been recognized for its distinguished reporting and programming including being awarded this year's Columbia Journalism Award and 'Best 24 Hour News Program' at the 48th and 50th Annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Al Jazeera English has also won Best News Channel three years running at the UK's Freesat awards. Al Jazeera English has received awards from the Royal Television Society, Amnesty International and YouTube and has received nominations for international Emmy awards in both the News and Current Affairs categories and the Royal Television Society awards as the 2009 and 2010 'News Channel of the Year' in the UK.