Report: Al Jazeera plans US streaming move

Al Jazeera Media Network is reportedly planning to make its English-language international news channel available to viewers in the US via the web.

According to an email seen by Reuters, Al Jazeera plans to make Al Jazeera English available in the US across digital platforms in September and is in talks with cable carriers about hosting the live stream.

The news comes three months after Al Jazeera America closed its cable and digital operations, citing an unsustainable business model. The US network stopped operating at the end of April, less than three years after its launch.

In an email to employees at the time, Al Jazeera America CEO Al Anstey said: “our business model is simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the US media marketplace”.

However, at the same time, parent company Al Jazeera Media Network revealed plans to expand its global digital operations into the US so that it can better compete in an “overwhelmingly digital world” and serve “today’s 24-hour digitally focused audience”.