Arab news network buys Gore's Current TV

LOS ANGELES -- With its $500 million purchase of left-leaning Current TV, the pan-Arab news channel Al-Jazeera will soon be seen in tens of millions of U.S. homes. It's a steep price, but the acquisition helps the network in its aim to spread its message quickly to more Americans.

The purchase will create a news channel called Al-Jazeera America, coming to U.S. homes in 90 days with a distinctly non-American view of the world. The network says many people in this country have sought its programming online, and that it aims to present an "unbiased" view, "representing as many different viewpoints as possible."

The deal already has its first casualty. Time Warner Cable Inc., the nation's second-largest TV operator, dropped Current after the deal was confirmed Wednesday, saying the network didn't have enough viewers.

The change in ownership gives Time Warner Cable the right to drop the channel, but spokeswoman Maureen Huff said the company is keeping "an open mind" about airing the new Al-Jazeera America.

Even after it is rebranded later this year, the channel will continue to be carried by DirecTV, Dish Network, Comcast Corp., AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS, according to a person familiar with the matter.

That boosts the reach of Al-Jazeera to about 50 million homes, up from the 4.7 million that could watch Al-Jazeera English, which is available to some subscribers in New York and Washington. That's down slightly from the 60 million homes Current TV was in.

It also amounts to a hefty payday for former Vice President Al Gore and co-founder Joel Hyatt, each of whom had 20 percent stakes in Current.

Gore confirmed the sale Wednesday, saying in a statement that Al-Jazeera shares Current TV's mission "to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling."