Al Jazeera announced on Thursday that it will acquire Current TV, a cable television network co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, which will strengthen the influence of the Qatari network in the United States.
The terms of the sale have not been disclosed, but analysts estimate that the deal could be worth $500 million.
Al Jazeera has announced that with this acquisition, it will launch a new news channel that will be able to reach more than 40 million American households, far exceeding the 4.7 million that followed it before the purchase.
With this new business move, Al Jazeera, which is controlled by the Qatari emir and his family, will become a strong competitor to American news channels CNN, MSNBC, and Fox.
Current, a liberal-oriented television network that struggled with low viewership, could be viewed in 60 out of 100 million American households with cable or satellite subscriptions. The new channel will begin broadcasting in 2013 and will be headquartered in New York.
