Al-Jazeera Starts on Friday in South Africa!
by Muhammad on May 30, 2007
in Uncategorized
MultiChoice has announced the purchase of Al Jazeera English, the international news and current affairs channel that is part of the Al Jazeera Network.
The channel will go live on MultiChoice’s DStv platform on Channel 62, on Friday 31 May 2007.
The 24-hour news and current affairs channel, headquartered in Doha, Quatar broadcasts to over 80-million households worldwide and is the first global news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East.
Al Jazeera made its name after the 9/11 attacks and during the US invasion of Afghanistan, airing highly controversial Osama bin Laden tapes and footage of dead American soldiers and hostages.
It has been branded “vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable” by ex-US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, although the channel says it’s simply reporting from a different perspective to the one which we are all used to.
With broadcasting centres in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC and supporting bureaus worldwide, the channel broadcasts news, current affairs, features, documentaries, live debates, entertainment, business and sport.
Since we haven’t yet seen a full broadcast we can’t vouch for it yet, but it can hardly be worse than the offerings dished up by CNN, the BBC and Sky News, the three big news networks on DStv.
MultiChoice’s General Manager Content, Aletta Alberts, seems thrilled enough by the acquisition.
“We are pleased at the addition of Al Jazeera to our platform as it will further enhance our offering,” she said in a statement.
“My team and I are constantly challenged to ensure that our content continues to engage our very diverse customers. We believe that the Al Jazeera channel will help achieve this, as it provides news and information across cultures, providing a new perspective and also exposure to stories previously untold.”
Nigel Parsons, Managing Director at Al Jazeera said: “We are delighted that MultiChoice will be carrying Al Jazeera and that they recognise the growing hunger for accurate, impartial and objective news.
“This agreement allows MultiChoice to offer people more choice in their news consumption,” he said.
The major US networks have refused to purchase the Al Jazeera channel, labelling it “Al-Qaeda Propaganda”, but millions of Americans still have access to it via the Internet.
The channel has wisely opted to poach numerous news anchors from big US and UK networks including CNN, ABC, Sky and the BBC, as well as respected television personalities like Sir David Frost, who hosts his own show on the channel.
Al Jazeera launches on DStv Channel 62 on Friday 31 May 2007, at 10h00 CAT (Central African Time).
Link
Now this is some exciting stuff :) I watched Al Jazeera English in Doha and in Dubai and I smaak it. I feel they are a little bit like BBC in terms of delivery but the content is freakin awesome! I loved the professionalism too, the whole package was very refreshing!
Technorati Tags: Al-Jazeera, South Africa, MultiChoice
