Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
01-13-16, 03:19 PM
#1
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
http://deadline.com/2016/01/al-jazee...il-1201682113/
For those unaware, this is the former Current TV network that Al Gore founded before it was sold to Al Jazeera.
About a year ago or so, they completely shut down their U.S. offices and moved it to Qatar.
This is the network that recently aired a documentary accusing Peyton Manning of the Broncos of using HGH.
After a rocky and low rated run of two and a half years, Al Jazeera America is closing down on April 30. The “decision by Al Jazeera America’s board is driven by the fact that our business model is simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the U.S. media marketplace,” said the news net’s CEO Al Anstey in a memo to staff today.
A source close to events says that the top tier people at AJAM have seen the writing on the wall since late last year when key execs fled amidst lawsuits and allegations of discrimination. Probably didn’t help that AJAM ended 2015 with a tiny tiny adults 25-43 demo primetime viewership of 7,000. While going off air in the spring, Anstey’s memo says AJAM plans to grow online to “bring new global content into America.” Staff were told today in a general meeting that they will be paid and receive benefits until the end of April.
Never a real player in the cable news universe Stateside, AJAM was born out of the $500 million purchase by its government of Qatar owners of the Al Gore created Current TV in January 2013. Despite early battles with the likes of Time Warner Cable and AT&T over carriage, AJAM debuted on August 20, 2013 in around 30 million U.S. homes. With the exception of stories like recent allegations that Denver Broncos QT Peyton Manning secretly used performance-enhancing drugs, AJAM never gained any traction – except for legal battles with the former VP, scandals, staff cuts and high profile exits.
A source close to events says that the top tier people at AJAM have seen the writing on the wall since late last year when key execs fled amidst lawsuits and allegations of discrimination. Probably didn’t help that AJAM ended 2015 with a tiny tiny adults 25-43 demo primetime viewership of 7,000. While going off air in the spring, Anstey’s memo says AJAM plans to grow online to “bring new global content into America.” Staff were told today in a general meeting that they will be paid and receive benefits until the end of April.
Never a real player in the cable news universe Stateside, AJAM was born out of the $500 million purchase by its government of Qatar owners of the Al Gore created Current TV in January 2013. Despite early battles with the likes of Time Warner Cable and AT&T over carriage, AJAM debuted on August 20, 2013 in around 30 million U.S. homes. With the exception of stories like recent allegations that Denver Broncos QT Peyton Manning secretly used performance-enhancing drugs, AJAM never gained any traction – except for legal battles with the former VP, scandals, staff cuts and high profile exits.
For those unaware, this is the former Current TV network that Al Gore founded before it was sold to Al Jazeera.
About a year ago or so, they completely shut down their U.S. offices and moved it to Qatar.
This is the network that recently aired a documentary accusing Peyton Manning of the Broncos of using HGH.
01-13-16, 06:50 PM
#2
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
Manning story aside, they've actually been pretty on point compared to their US counterparts. Ah well, you can't make money with neutral news.
01-13-16, 07:45 PM
#3
Banned
Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
Their terrorist sounding name didn't help them either. ;-)
But seriously, a lot of people I unfortunately know, thought that Al Jazeera was Al Qaeda news network. For real. The owners of this channel should have taken into consideration the appeal of their name to the American public.
But seriously, a lot of people I unfortunately know, thought that Al Jazeera was Al Qaeda news network. For real. The owners of this channel should have taken into consideration the appeal of their name to the American public.
01-14-16, 09:55 AM
#4
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
Their terrorist sounding name didn't help them either. ;-)
But seriously, a lot of people I unfortunately know, thought that Al Jazeera was Al Qaeda news network. For real. The owners of this channel should have taken into consideration the appeal of their name to the American public.
But seriously, a lot of people I unfortunately know, thought that Al Jazeera was Al Qaeda news network. For real. The owners of this channel should have taken into consideration the appeal of their name to the American public.
01-14-16, 11:35 AM
#5
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
Their terrorist sounding name didn't help them either. ;-)
But seriously, a lot of people I unfortunately know, thought that Al Jazeera was Al Qaeda news network. For real. The owners of this channel should have taken into consideration the appeal of their name to the American public.
But seriously, a lot of people I unfortunately know, thought that Al Jazeera was Al Qaeda news network. For real. The owners of this channel should have taken into consideration the appeal of their name to the American public.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/md9aFoyOOAs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I think a lot of Americans first heard of Al Jazeera as the network that aired Osama bin Laden's videos so I am not surprised they couldn't make it with that name here.
01-14-16, 11:43 AM
#6
Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
I'm sure that's just devastating to all their viewers. - Peyton Manning
01-14-16, 11:49 AM
#7
Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
Al Jazeera America actually is more fair and balanced then FOX and MSNBC, but the problem is people already have a bias towards it. I know many family members/friends who won't even turn the channel on once because its Al Jazeera. They should have called it something different (even though people knew it was owned by Al Jazeera) and it may have fared better.
Most of the anchors are from the CNN (before the days of FOX and MSNBC), as it felt like you were watching CNN in the 80's/90's. The other problem is my provider (Comcast) never had it in HD, so I would forget about it as it was sitting next to all of the SD channels.
Most of the anchors are from the CNN (before the days of FOX and MSNBC), as it felt like you were watching CNN in the 80's/90's. The other problem is my provider (Comcast) never had it in HD, so I would forget about it as it was sitting next to all of the SD channels.
Last edited by coli; 01-14-16 at 12:02 PM.
01-14-16, 01:01 PM
#8
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Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
I think they expanded too aggressively to begin with. The name doesn't help, but I'm not sure how much demand there is for another 24 hour news channel, particularly one that focuses on international issues. I'd be curious to see how it's ratings compare to BBC World News, which has similar market reach with a much better/established brand image in the US.
Last edited by wmansir; 01-14-16 at 01:06 PM.
01-14-16, 01:18 PM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Al Jazeera America Network shutting down in April
A network founded by a pretentious blowhard and sold to human traffickers is folding? Boo-hoo
