SINCE IT FIRST BEGAN BROADCASTING 10 years ago, Qatari satellite network Al Jazeera has become the Arab world’s media juggernaut, claiming 50 million viewers across 137 countries. A 2005 survey by Brandchannel.com ranked Al Jazeera as the world’s fifth most influential brand, just behind Starbucks, and plans are in the works to extend the network’s reach even further with the launch of an English-language version, Al Jazeera International. High-profile personalities such as Riz Khan and ABC’s David Marash have signed on as the network’s news anchors. But AJI representatives have declined to comment on whether the network has secured a cable distribution deal in the United States, and the consensus among outside sources was that they had not. While it has been picked up by Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB channel in Europe, it remains to be seen whether Americans will get the chance to see what English-language news from a Middle Eastern perspective looks like.

Originally slated to launch in 2005, Al Jazeera International has pushed back its projected start date several times. As of this writing, network representatives would not give any date more specific than “later in 2006.” AJI chalks up the delays to “technical issues,” but it is more likely that they are waiting until they have confirmed distribution in the United States, guaranteeing a truly global splash for the network’s launch.