Al-Jazeera is to launch a new English language channel this May as part of an ambitious expansion that includes sport and children’s channels and a new training centre. The broadcaster, which achieved international renown when it broadcast a tape from Osama bin Laden soon after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre, is already watched by 35
million viewers a day around the world. But because of its controversial editorial stance, al-Jazeera has struggled to attract advertising in the more conservative Arab countries and has yet to make a profit after nearly eight years on air. Now it is hoping to capitalise on its rise to
fame during the last Iraq war with a series of commercial initiatives,including an English language channel and a training centre that will offer PR advice to companies in the Arab world.
