Al Jazeera America Will Shut Down Its Cable TV Network in April

Al Jazeera America, launched in August 2013, will shut down in April. The channel, with a parent company owned by the Qatar government, was “squeezed by declining oil prices, a fiercely competitive TV landscape and a brand that American viewers never embraced,” writes Stephen Battaglio for the Los Angeles Times. He adds the channel “sought to distinguish itself by emphasizing a more serious approach to its journalism and did not depend on the confrontational talking heads that are a staple of American cable news.” Programs attracted awards along with scorn after a December report relied on a questionable source who associated popular athletes with human growth hormone and then retracted the claim. The channel, available to 60 million homes, attracted an average of 7000 prime-time viewers, Battaglio reports. US consumers will still have access to Al Jazeera reporting, with the parent company’s announcement of plans to expand worldwide digital operations. – YaleGlobal