Al Jazeera widens reach, eyes U.S. cable deals

By Robert MacMillan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Al Jazeera Network has signed agreements with cable and satellite television operators that will bring its English and Arabic channels to more than 160 million homes worldwide, the TV news network plans to announce on Thursday.

Al Jazeera, arguably the dominant news service for the Arabic-speaking world, also is negotiating with a number of U.S. cable companies to try to expand its reach inside United States.

"It isn't distributed widely in the United States," Tony Burman, who was named managing director of Al Jazeera's English-language service on Wednesday, said in an interview.

"But there are a lot of efforts under way now to change that ... I'm told that there's real optimism that nuts will be cracked soon."

Al Jazeera's Arabic channel is currently available in the United States through the DISH Network.

Burman previously was editor-in-chief and executive director of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, and left that position in July 2007.

One of his chief aims is to increase the networks' North American reach, he said. Some of that will mean beefing up the network's coverage in the United States, he added.

"There's a curiosity about what's going on within the democratic process in the United States that really needs to be satisfied," Burman said.