The Hindu Business Line : Al Jazeera English hopes to go on air in India soon

New Delhi, July 18 Al Jazeera English, the channel that sells itself as a global ‘alternative’ news network, will soon be available to Indian viewers.

“India is a huge economy, strategically very important for us. Al Jazeera has done a lot to encourage freedom of expression around the world, and particularly in West Asia. It would only be appropriate for a channel like us to be carried in the largest democracy of the world,” said Mr Phil Lawrie, Director, Global Distribution, Al Jazeera English. The company, which had applied for license in November, expects to get the Government clearance for distribution of its channel very soon.

The network will be bringing its 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, headquartered in Doha, to Indian audiences.

According to Mr Lawrie, since its international launch in November 2006, the channel has done very well in its current markets, and should also find an interest in the fast growing Indian market.

Mr Lawrie, who was in the Capital for a news television summit, will be meeting officials in the hope of hurrying their case.

“We were already expecting to be available in India. However, the regulatory clearance is still awaited. I believe the Ministry has a huge number of applications that it is processing already,” said Mr Lawrie.

However, the network has already started charting out its distribution plans. “We are in talks with various distributors across platforms, cable and direct-to-home, for our channel, which we hope will be on air very soon,” said Mr Anmol Saxena, Bureau Chief- India, Al Jazeera International.

The channel claims to reach more than a 100 million viewers across the world, and says it comes only after BBC World and CNN International in the English news genre. Al Jazeera plans to kick-off its India innings with visits from its celebrity news anchors David Frost, Rageh Omaar, Riz Khan and Shiulie Ghosh.