'the island', pronounced [æl (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ]) is a 24-hour English-language news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is partially funded by the government of Qatar.

[12] By 2009, the service was accessible in every major European market and was available to 130 million homes across over 100 countries through cable and satellite, as reported by a spokeswoman for the network in Washington.

[14] Al Jazeera English subsequently launched a campaign to enter the North American market, including a dedicated website.

[17][18] Al Jazeera English and Iran's state-run Press TV were the only international English-language television broadcasters with journalists reporting from inside both Gaza and Israel during the 2008–2009 Israel-Gaza conflict.

[24][25] On 3 January 2013, Al Jazeera Media Network announced that it had purchased Current TV in the United States and would be launching an American news channel.

The channel aired Newshour in the morning and midday hours and cut to live Al Jazeera English coverage of large breaking international news stories outside of that.

[31] Ultimately, the planned UK channel never materialised, and Al Jazeera English continued to broadcast some of its daily bulletins from London until July 2023.

[22] Al Jazeera news segments were frequently included on the American public television program Worldfocus which aired from October 6, 2008 until April 2, 2010.

Prior to the December 2012 analog switchoff Triangle TV re-broadcast various Al Jazeera programmes in Auckland on its free-to-air UHF channel.

[64] Al Jazeera English is available via satellite across all of North America free to air via Globecast on Galaxy 19 on the Ku band in DVB format.

[65] Among the markets where it was available were Bristol County, Rhode Island, Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio, Burlington, Vermont, Houston, Texas, and Washington, DC.

[66] Industry giant Comcast originally planned to carry Al Jazeera English in 2007, but reversed its decision shortly before the channel's launch, citing "the already-saturated television market".

[67] The two major American satellite providers, DirecTV and Dish Network, had similar plans but also changed their minds, with speculation that the decision may have been influenced by allegations by the Bush administration of "anti-American bias" in the channel.

The New York Times reported on 1 February 2011 that 1.6 million U.S. viewers had tuned in via Internet stream, and stated that new discussions were underway with carriers.

[70] Salon.com described the channel's English-language coverage as "mandatory viewing for anyone interested in the world-changing events currently happening in Egypt",[71] while Huffington Post contributor Jeff Jarvis claimed it was "un-American" for operators to not carry the network.

It permitted the announcement following unrest in Egypt[clarification needed] so American viewers can watch the latest events going on in the Middle East.

The journalists faced a series of trial delays, with questionable evidence including misleading videos, inaudible audio recordings, and unrelated images.

The verdict was widely criticized, with global leaders and media outlets denouncing it as a politically motivated attack on press freedom.

[105] Although the Chinese government refrained from publicly disclosing the reasons for her expulsion, it was widely understood that their dissatisfaction stemmed from a documentary aired by the channel, focusing on China's prison system.

[110] Emmy award-winning journalist Dave Marash resigned from his position saying his exit was due in part to an anti-American bias at the network that is little seen in the US.

"[112] On 12 October 2008, Al Jazeera English broadcast interviews with people attending a Sarah Palin United States presidential election rally in St. Clairsville, Ohio, with interviewees making comments about Barack Obama such as "he regards white people as trash" and "I'm afraid if he wins, the blacks will take over"...The report received over two million views on YouTube.

[115] Criticism of an Anti-American bias has been dwindling as their coverage of the Arab Spring received wide acclaim and calls for the network to be added to U.S.

[116] Additional programming geared towards an American audience includes a day's worth of special coverage marking the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

[117] Al Jazeera has also launched The Stream, a show based in Washington D.C. that discusses social media, which targets an American audience.