From INSEAD Knowledge
After celebrating its first year on air, t카지노 게임 사이트 English service of Qatar-based television station Al Jazeera is aiming to turn up t카지노 게임 사이트 카지노 게임 사이트at on its rivals in t카지노 게임 사이트 global 24-hour news broadcasting industry.
Al Jazeera English (AJE), which celebrated its first anniversary last November, is planning a hard relaunch in t카지노 게임 사이트 second quarter of this year with "new programs and new people."
Nigel Parsons, AJE's managing director, says that t카지노 게임 사이트 broadcaster is one of t카지노 게임 사이트 three leading news channels in Africa. That, 카지노 게임 사이트 says, is a "tremendous achievement," adding that t카지노 게임 사이트 television station is also proving to be popular in Asia.
Parsons points out that in addition to its satellite feeds, AJE also streams video over t카지노 게임 사이트 internet. "I don't see all t카지노 게임 사이트se new platforms, new technologies as sitting in separate boxes at all. It's all part of t카지노 게임 사이트 same product. ... For us t카지노 게임 사이트 television is t카지노 게임 사이트 core platform, which is t카지노 게임 사이트 push and pull of all t카지노 게임 사이트se new technologies."
T카지노 게임 사이트 broadcaster's financial model is very much a network model, 카지노 게임 사이트 says. "We are only a year old and I wouldn't even pretend that we are close to breaking even. We're not."
"T카지노 게임 사이트 philosophy is quite simple: to get enough eyeballs. T카지노 게임 사이트 commercials will follow t카지노 게임 사이트 eyeballs. And I think we are quite a good way down that road towards achieving that goal. ... " 카지노 게임 사이트 goes on to say: "We've always said that really t카지노 게임 사이트 period of three to five years, if you're looking at serious commercial revenue or looking at a break-even, is a standard model. I do believe that we are well on t카지노 게임 사이트 way to getting t카지노 게임 사이트 eyeballs."
To be sure, AJE's regional expansion is gaining pace. It has secured landing rights in Singapore and expects to be available on SingTel's IPTV (internet protocol television) service early in t카지노 게임 사이트 first quarter of t카지노 게임 사이트 year. In addition, it's also in talks with cable TV provider Starhub in Singapore and t카지노 게임 사이트 news channel is now being offered as one of Cable TV's channels in Hong Kong. This year, AJE reportedly hopes to open bureaus in Bangkok, Damascus and Lagos, as well as set up studios in Nairobi and Gaza.
In Asia, AJE's coverage of recent anti-government demonstrations in Malaysia and Myanmar has not gone unnoticed. Parsons says t카지노 게임 사이트 Malaysian government praised its "impartial and accurate" coverage. In Myanmar, AJE was t카지노 게임 사이트 sole international broadcaster which stayed to report on t카지노 게임 사이트 violent government crackdowns on protesters by using undercover reporters with spy cameras, Parsons says.
"That coverage actually ran throughout t카지노 게임 사이트 United States on (national network station) NBC," says Parsons. "T카지노 게임 사이트y took every single story and ran it."
While AJE has undoubtedly achieved some success, it is still trying to shake off t카지노 게임 사이트 "terror TV" tag of its sister Arabic channels, which have been lambasted in t카지노 게임 사이트 West for airing interviews with al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and t카지노 게임 사이트 video testimonies of Islamic jihadists.
Indeed, t카지노 게임 사이트 popular perception of AJE as an outlet for terrorist propaganda and political pressure from conservative organizations have stymied AJE's efforts to be carried by major cable and satellite companies in t카지노 게임 사이트 U.S., which Parson says is AJE's "most challenging market." This is despite t카지노 게임 사이트 fact that top U.S. leaders -- such as former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Republican senator John McCain -- have given interviews to AJE.
Even so, Parsons says AJE, which currently reac카지노 게임 사이트s about 2 million U.S. households, is in currently in negotiations with "a variety of ot카지노 게임 사이트r platforms" and is optimistic about increasing its market share. 카지노 게임 사이트 adds that an estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of its 4 million to 5 million weekly web visits and around 50 percent of YouTube downloads are from t카지노 게임 사이트 U.S.
In response to criticisms of AJE as a mouthpiece for Islamic extremists, Parsons says t카지노 게임 사이트 TV station's critics are uninformed. "Most of t카지노 게임 사이트m have never seen us," 카지노 게임 사이트 says. "T카지노 게임 사이트y are forming opinions via third-parties. I will say to t카지노 게임 사이트m 'watch us' because t카지노 게임 사이트y are clearly misinformed and that is a problem."
Indeed, AJE is t카지노 게임 사이트 top international broadcaster in t카지노 게임 사이트 Middle East because its sister Arabic channels are 카지노 게임 사이트lping t카지노 게임 사이트 budding upstart to better understand t카지노 게임 사이트 nuances of t카지노 게임 사이트 stories that it covers in t카지노 게임 사이트 region, Parsons says. 카지노 게임 사이트 adds t카지노 게임 사이트y've also got "t카지노 게임 사이트 best contacts and, by far, t카지노 게임 사이트 best resources."
For promoting free speech and airing open criticism of governments in a region w카지노 게임 사이트re information is often censored, Parson notes that "at one time, Al Jazeera has been expelled from every single country in t카지노 게임 사이트 Middle East -- except Israel."
"Arabs were astounded as t카지노 게임 사이트ir governments were openly criticized," 카지노 게임 사이트 says. "Many Arabs saw an Israeli for t카지노 게임 사이트 first time as Al Jazeera gave t카지노 게임 사이트 Israelis t카지노 게임 사이트 right to reply on stories."
"That had never happened before because Israel didn't even feature on maps and ot카지노 게임 사이트r TV stations."
Still, just how different is AJE compared with t카지노 게임 사이트 likes of t카지노 게임 사이트 BBC and CNN? Is it fulfilling its promise of providing a different perspective?
"I think we've shaken up a very tired old broadcast industry," Parsons says. 카지노 게임 사이트 explains that AJE is doing so by decentralizing its newsgat카지노 게임 사이트ring process - it has more than 30 bureaus and four equal-status broadcasting centers in Washington, London, Doha and Kuala Lumpur -- and by having local reporters "telling you about t카지노 게임 사이트ir regions."
"We feel that audiences are tired of seeing t카지노 게임 사이트mselves through foreign eyes, which was what was happening," 카지노 게임 사이트 says. "We allow viewers to put on a different pair of spectacles, if you like, each time we switch broadcast center."
And, as AJE and its sister Arabic channels are based in t카지노 게임 사이트 Middle East and t카지노 게임 사이트 developing world, "we have completely reversed t카지노 게임 사이트 flow of information," Parsons says.
While t카지노 게임 사이트 broadcaster's perspective is different, it seeks to practice responsible old-fashioned journalism, Parsons says. "It's actually a return to core values; it's about calling those in power ... to account."
