International news and current affairs channel, Al Jazeera English, has tied up with direct-to-home player, Dish TV, for its distribution in India.

“We are in talks with other direct-to-home players like Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon and cable operators, but to begin with we will be available on the Dish TV platform,” said Mr Al Anstey, Managing Director, Al Jazeera English. It would be a free-to-air channel and is expected to reach 11.7 million households.

Asked why it took Al Jazeera so long to firm up a partner after obtaining a licence to air in the country in December last year, Mr Anstey said, “We are a five-year-old company and were not very well known at that point in time. It took us a while to build our reputation and have gradually come to be known as the ‘channel of reference'.”

The channel has a Delhi Bureau headed by Mr Anmol Saxena, with six to seven reporters and 60 stringers across the country. There would be both Indian and international coverage on the channel.

“We would like to get under the skin of the news. A viewer will get to see a bit about their world and the rest of the world,” said Mr Anstey.

The channel will be international in its outlook but will also cover local news with an international impact. Going forward, it does not rule out the possibility of a Hindi Al Jazeera.

“We just launched a Balkan channel and will be launching a Turkish one next year. A Hindi channel would seem viable but we cannot give a timeline right now,” he said.

The broadcaster may also bring other specialised channels on sports and documentary to the country, but at present it would focus on establishing a reputation for its news content.

Headquartered in Doha, Qatar, the Al Jazeera Network has 70 bureaus around the world and broadcasts to 250 million households in 130 countries.

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