Release:AJE live on DStv channel 62

30 May 2007: MultiChoice announces the addition of Al Jazeera English to their platform.  The recently launched 24 hour international news and current affairs channel, which is part of the world renowned Al Jazeera Network, will go live on MultiChoice’s DStv platform, channel 62, on 31 May 2007 at 10h00 CAT (Central African Time).

Al Jazeera English is the first English language global news and current affairs channel to be headquartered in the Middle East, in Doha – Qatar. It broadcasts to more than 90 million cable and satellite households worldwide and is available through live streaming and on YouTube.

Al Jazeera English has a strong presence and high level of expertise in Africa through its bureaus and dedicated resources.  The Channel currently has bureaus in Cairo– Egypt, Abidjan- Ivory Coast, Nairobi– Kenya, Johannesburg- South Africa and Harare- Zimbabwe and shares the resources of Al Jazeera Arabic Channel’s African bureaus located in Ndjamena- Chad, Tripoli- Libya, Nouakchott- Mauritania, Rabat- Morocco, Dakar- Senegal, Mogadishu-Somalia, Johannesburg- South Africa and Khartoum- Sudan.

In pursuing a news agenda that is all-inclusive, Al Jazeera English is the only global news channel to be granted a license to operate a bureau in Zimbabwe, giving the channel unique access to this part of Southern Africa.

MultiChoice’s General Manager of Content, Aletta Alberts said, “We are pleased at the addition of Al Jazeera English to our platform as it will further enhance our offering. 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 English channel will help achieve this, as it provides news and information across cultures, providing a new perspective and also exposure to stories previously untold.”

Director General of the Al Jazeera Network, Wadah Khanfar said, “Our deep commitment to the profession of journalism and our broad presence in Africa with our dedicated resources bring an additional depth of coverage to the important issues and stories in Africa.  We are excited at the access that this agreement has given viewers in Africa and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Multichoice.”

Nigel Parsons, Managing Director at Al Jazeera English commented, “We are delighted that MultiChoice will be carrying Al Jazeera English 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”

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About Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English is the world’s first English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Broadcasting from within the Middle East, looking outwards, Al Jazeera English sets the news agenda and acts as a bridge between cultures. With unique access as the channel of reference for Middle East events, and broadcast centres strategically placed around the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC, Al Jazeera English balances the information flow from South to North, providing accurate, impartial and objective news for a global audience from a grass roots level, giving voice to different perspectives from under-reported regions around the world.

Al Jazeera English is building on the ground-breaking heritage of its sister Arab-language channel – Al Jazeera, which was responsible for changing the face of news within the Middle East, now extending that fresh perspective from regional to global.

Visit  www.aljazeera.net/english for more details.

GET MORE FROM THE AL JAZEERA PRESS OFFICE

Al Jazeera’s Press Office is open for enquiries from members of the press and media. Journalists can contact us at the following address: The Press Office, Al Jazeera, PO Box 23127, Doha, Qatar e-mail: press.int@aljazeera.net – Tel: +974 489 2320/1, +44 207 201 2819 or +1 212 486 7070 The Al Jazeera Press Office Inbox is regularly checked during office hours and inquiries will be answered as quickly as possible