AL-JAZEERA ENGLISH TO DOUBLE ITS U.K. AUDIENCE

Al-Jazeera English, the Qatar-based satellite news channel that has struggled to find cable outlets in the West willing to carry it, scored a coup on Tuesday when the U.K. cable service Freeview agreed to add it to its lineup beginning on Thursday, July 1. The deal adds ten million homes to the Arab news channel’s potential audience, effectively doubling its audience in the U.K. in one fell swoop. “This is a breakthrough for us,” Al Anstey, director of media development for Al-Jazeera English, told Britain’s Guardian newspaper. “It will give us substantial reach to more than 80% of homes in the U.K.” No major U.S. cable company has agreed to carry the channel, which notably features a weekly interview show hosted by David Frost.