WASHINGTON: The Qatar-owned media group Al Jazeera is in talks to buy Current TV, a struggling cable channel founded by former US vice president Al Gore, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The deal could allow Al Jazeera broader entry into US homes, by acquiring the cable group available in around 60 million American households, the report said.
Contacted by AFP, Current Media did not immediately respond to the report.
The Times said that if the deal is completed, Al Jazeera would create a new channel instead of using its existing English-language channel Al Jazeera English.
This would tentatively be called Al Jazeera America, the report said, and produce around 60 per cent of its programming in the United States and draw the rest from Al Jazeera English.
The plan could put the broadcaster financed by the government of Qatar into closer competition with CNN and other news channels in the United States, according to The Times, which noted that Al Jazeera is offered only by a handful of US cable and satellite distributors.
Current Media, founded in 2005, operates Current TV, reaches households in Britain and the United States, and a youth-focused website Current.com, where users can submit their own content.
Founded by Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt, Current has won two Emmy Awards and other honours. It reaches 71 million households worldwide, including 60 million in the US market.
But The Times said a sale was being considered because of low ratings, with an average of just 42,000 people watching the channel last year.
- AFP/jc
Al Jazeera eyes Gore-founded TV group: report
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