The Al Jazeera Network celebrated the 13th anniversary of its satellite channel yesterday. Yesterday was also the sixth anniversary of Al Jazeera Sport, and the third anniversary of its English and Documentary channels. The channel’s chairman HE Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al- Thani addressed the attendees of the “Al Jazeera Day” event and honoured the staff who had served the company for more than five years. Al Jazeera also announced the launch of new programmes yesterday. Among the attendees were members of the board of directors, the network’s (English, Sports and Documentary) channel managers and staff. Al Jazeera was announced as the winner of the Saudi-based “Civilisation and Distinction award for Arab channels” with a 70% advantage over the runner-up channel. Al Jazeera director-general Wadah Khanfar told reporters that a study on trends and opinions showed that the number of Al Jazeera viewers had touched 140mn. Khanfar said: “The launch of our new programmes and a new programming grid on November 1 is a reflection of our commitment. “By better understanding both the numbers and the opinions of our viewers, we will continue to serve our audience as well as evolve to meet their changing demands.” As part of Al Jazeera’s vision to extend its reach, Al Jazeera English will begin Qatar radio service transmission on FM 101.7. The launch of the service coincides with Al Jazeera English’s third anniversary. Al Jazeera Network deputy director-general Khaled al-Mulla said that the transmission of Al Jazeera English Channel on local FM radio is due to the increasing demand from local, regional and global viewers. Earlier this year Al Jazeera Arabic Channel launched its FM radio service in Gaza following the channel’s transmission on local FM radio in Qatar. http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=323784&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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