Al Jazeera's news channels are blocked in the UAE and I suspect the other Gulf states too. My friend over there can only watch the English channel using the channel's app, but YouTube and linear sources are down.
Al Jazeera's news channels are blocked in the UAE and I suspect the other Gulf states too. My friend over there can only watch the English channel using the channel's app, but YouTube and linear sources are down.
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States want Al Jazeera close down, among other things, before they will lift embargo.
Actually, does this also affect BeIn Sports in the Arab states?
Or just Al Jazeera as it's seen as the mouthpiece of the Qatar ruling regime in that region?
Actually, does this also affect BeIn Sports in the Arab states?
Or just Al Jazeera as it's seen as the mouthpiece of the Qatar ruling regime in that region?
Bein Sports has been geo-blocked in the Arab states since the dispute began. I'd guess they'd allow it to resume if Al Jazeera closed.
I doubt AJE makes them any money at all, so it'd be in Qatar's best interests to close the English and Arabic channels, although personally I'll miss their news coverage of Africa and the Middle East if they do close.
However, I wonder if AJE could be acquired by another company not owned by the Qataris and run from London?
I'd be sad to see Al Jazeera close - it's celebrated in the Middle East (obviously not in all regions) and is often cited as their version of the BBC, not least because the founding fathers of the channel worked for BBC Arabic before its closure.
You only have to look at the money which is ploughed into it, and the jubilant celebrations of their 20th anniversary this past November, to guess how much of a big deal it would be if Qatar closed the station.
I doubt AJE makes them any money at all, so it'd be in Qatar's best interests to close the English and Arabic channels
What an odd thing to say. None of their news channels will make money, but that's not what they exist for. Sky News probably doesn't make any money for Sky but that doesn't mean it's in their interests to close it
Would be a shame to see the channel closed for political reasons and there is zero justification in the demands on Qatar to close the channel.
'A shame' is an understatement, it would be a very sad day for journalism
Quote:
It's almost the equivalent of Britain being asked to close the BBC as part of Brexit.
That's similar to what the acting DG of Al Jazeera English said the other day:
"We are stunned by the demand to close Al Jazeera," Giles Trendle, the acting managing director of Al Jazeera English, said. "Of course, there has been talk about it in the past, but it is still a great shock and surprise to actually see it in writing. It's as absurd as it would be for Germany to demand Britain to close the BBC."
I doubt AJE makes them any money at all, so it'd be in Qatar's best interests to close the English and Arabic channels
What an odd thing to say. None of their news channels will make money, but that's not what they exist for. Sky News probably doesn't make any money for Sky but that doesn't mean it's in their interests to close it
It's not odd in the grander scale of resolving the political crisis in the Gulf. Sky isn't funded in the same way AJE is.
If it's a choice between saving the revenue earning sports channels which bring money into Qatar or loss making news channels, it's a no brainer of resolving the crisis in the country, however much it reduces journalism.
Yeah but whether it makes money or not is irrelevant. The consideration is whether it's worth having diplomatically, not fiancially, it's value to Qatar isn't anything to do with money
The comparison with Sky News is relevant, it (almost certainly) doesn't make any money and there was talk a few years ago of it being sacrificed or spun off for political rather than financial reasons. It has a similar value to Sky and the Murdochs as AJ does to Qatar
Yeah but whether it makes money or not is irrelevant. The consideration is whether it's worth having diplomatically, not fiancially, it's value to Qatar isn't anything to do with money
The comparison with Sky News is relevant, it (almost certainly) doesn't make any money and there was talk a few years ago of it being sacrificed or spun off for political rather than financial reasons. It has a similar value to Sky and the Murdochs as AJ does to Qatar
Politically Sky News has zero influence thanks to our impartiality rules, while Murdoch's papers have had influence in the past, although the last general election put paid to that. Even if the Fox deal goes ahead, it's likely Sky News will be siphoned off as a Times style trust with it's own board to maintain their editorial independence from old Rupe.
I'm not sure how AJE or AJA have annoyed the Gulf states with their coverage, but they clearly see the channel as a threat along with Qatar's alleged funding of radical terrorism. Maybe the AJ issue can be resolved with a similar external trust with no influence from the Qatari Royals?