Al Jazeera English launches across India and is welcomed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
- Global news broadcaster strengthens its foothold in India
- Announces nation-wide launch through India’s No.1 DTH platform Dish TV
New Delhi | November 17, 2011: Al Jazeera English has launched across India today on country’s No. 1 DTH platform.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed Al Jazeera English in a meeting with Managing Director Al Anstey and India bureau chief Anmol Saxena, saying “Al Jazeera is gaining quite a reputation worldwide. I wish them success for their launch in India.”
The channel announced the launch on Dish TV enabling Al Jazeera English to reach 11.7 million households across India and will be available to over 48 million individuals with the channel available in the family pack tier on Channel 618.
“We are delighted to be launching on Dish TV today”, said Al Anstey, Managing Director of Al Jazeera English. “India is an emerging leader in today’s globalised world, and a critical country for Al Jazeera English to broadcast across. We are confident that our coverage will be of enormous interest and value to audiences across India.
“Through our vast network of reporters worldwide, we provide eye-witness reports from all corners of the globe. We are uniquely placed to deliver honest and in-depth coverage.”
Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, said “Dish TV being the pioneer and market leader with many industry firsts to its credit, in yet another first for Dish TV, we are proud to have Al Jazeera channel on our platform. Al Jazeera’s launch on our platform will keep our family of 11.7 million subscribers connected and updated with latest in current affairs, issues and happenings across the globe. Dish TV has been a trend setter in offering its viewers the best content, service and quality and we will continue to bring the best of the content for our valued subscribers”.
Al Jazeera English is an international news channel, holding over 70 bureaus around the world which span six different continents. Since being established in 2006, it has continued to grow in reach and popularity due to its global coverage, especially from underreported regions. The channel currently broadcasts to over 250m households across 130 countries, a number that is expected to grow as the channel expands throughout India.
The international news provider has operated a bureau in New Delhi since its establishment five years ago. Al Jazeera has produced a showreel of its highlights since 2006 for its India launch which can be watched here http://youtu.be/R3h3oCXz9DI
The DTH market has been one of significance with broadcasters. According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the first three months of 2011 saw a climb in the number of DTH subscribers in India registered with private service providers by 3.51 million to a grand 35.56 million, making it a promising platform for international news broadcasters such as Al Jazeera English.
About Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English has been recognized for its distinguished reporting and programming including being awarded the Columbia Journalism Award and “Best 24 Hour News Program” at the 48th and 50th Annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Al Jazeera English has also won Best News Channel three years running at the UK’s Freesat awards and received awards from the Royal Television Society, Amnesty International and YouTube. The channel has received nominations for international Emmy awards in both the News and Current Affairs categories, and from the Royal Television Society awards as the 2009 and 2010 “News Channel of the Year” in the UK.Al Jazeera English is part of the Al Jazeera Network, which now consists of the flagship Al Jazeera Arabic channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera.net (the English and Arabic web sites), the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Al Jazeera Mubasher (Live), Al Jazeera Mobile and Al Jazeera Balkans.
For more information visit www.aljazeera.com
About Dish TV India
Dish TV is India’s largest direct-to-home company and part of the biggest media conglomerate – Zee Group. Dishtv has on its platform 330+ channels and services including 21 audio channels with 11.7 million subscribers, which is growing. The company has a vast distribution network of about 1400 distributors and 55,000 dealers that spans around 6600 towns across the country. Dishtv has 24*7 call centre with 1600 seats in 11 different languages to take care of subscriber requirements at any point of time. For more information on Dishtv, visit www.dishtv.in
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For further information, please contact:
Al Jazeera English
Osama Saeed
+97444892603
Press.int@aljazeera.net
Sophia Qureshi
Sophia.qureshi@aljazeera.net
Edelman India
Vidha Shukla
Tel: +91 95603 11446
E-mail: Vidha.shukla@edelman.com
Dish TV India
Hirdesh Agarwal
Tel: – 91 9899693635
Email- hirdesh_a@dishtv.in