Today's News: Our Take - Al Jazeera Nearing Deal to Take Over Al Gore's Current TV
Al Jazeera is nearing a deal to take over cable channel Current TV in a move that would put the Middle Eastern news channel into 60 million American homes, The New York Times reports.
Al Jazeera would reportedly use Current TV, which was founded by former Vice President Al Gore in 2005, to create a new channel based in New York. Approximately 60 percent of the programming for the channel, possibly called Al Jazeera America, would be produced in America with the other 40 percent from the already existing Al Jazeera English, which is based in Doha, Qatar.
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Current's current schedule of shows, which are hosted by personalities like Joy Behar and former Governor Eliot Spitzer, will most likely end in the spring, according to the newspaper.
Many of the country's cable and satellite distributors have been reluctant to carry Al Jazeera English, save for cities like New York and Washington D.C. However, this deal would allow the news company to compete more directly with CNN and other news channels.
Current TV drew 42,000 viewers on a typical night in 2012, the Times reports.
Co-founder Joel Hyatt confirmed the channel was for sale in October saying, "Current has been approached many times by media companies interested in acquiring our company. This year alone, we have had three inquiries. As a consequence, we thought it might be useful to engage expertise to help us evaluate our strategic options."
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