White House turns to Al Jazeera English to monitor Egypt protests

Washington, Feb.1 (ANI): White House officials have turned to Al Jazeera English among other television channels to monitor the mounting protests in Egypt.

With the Qatar-based network's coverage of the Mid-East crisis drawing praise, Al Jazeera executives said Monday that they planned to renew their lobbying to be carried on cable systems across the United States.I sincerely hope now is the turning point," Al Anstey, the managing director of Al Jazeera English, said by telephone from Doha, Qatar.

The channel has won some American fans in recent days because of its live stream on the Internet, which has garnered more than 1.6 million views in the United States, the New York Times reports.

If major cable and satellite companies like Comcast and DirecTV are willing to carry Al Jazeera English, they were not willing to say so on Monday.

Some of the companies said in statements that they have to balance the requests of many channels that want space on an already-crowded line-up of channels.

Al Jazeera English, however, is indisputably unique. In recent days, the channel, an offshoot of the main Arabic-language Al Jazeera, has gained attention for its up-close, around-the-clock coverage of the protests in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other cities in Egypt.

While American television networks were scrambling to move reporters and producers into Cairo, the Al Jazeera channels were already there.

Al Jazeera began its English channel in 2006. It is generally accessible to viewers around the world. (ANI)