• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 1, 2006

Despite the potential to be a tough sell to advertisers, the long-anticipated launch of an English-language version of the controversial Al Jazeera network is expected Nov. 15 in the United States.

Called Al Jazeera International, it's the first English version of the Arabic network that drew considerable attention during the early part of the Iraq war. The network was also the subject of the 2004 documentary "Control Room," which explored differing viewpoints about the war in the Middle East from other parts of the world. Al Jazeera's Arabic network has been on the air for a decade.

A network representative declined to provide any details on which markets in the U.S. the network will be available in, or which cable or satellite operators might carry it, or whether any advertisers had signed up. The network will be ad-supported, but backed by the wealthy Emir of Qatar.

"We will be government funded for a number of years, but will also create revenue streams with a mix of ad revenue, sponsorship and SMS technology ... and subscription revenue," the Al-Jazeera International representative explained in an e-mail.

According to him, the network is "confident" that it will be in 30 million to 40 million homes worldwide upon launch, and mentioned cable, satellite and broadband as outlets.

Part of Al Jazeera's potential difficulty in garnering ad support is due to the Bush administration's persistent criticism of the network for biased journalism. Major marketers could be wary of drawing the ire of a federal agency that regulates its business by supporting the network.

The network has signed renowned British interviewer David Frost to serve as part of its on-air talent. It has bureaus in Washington and London. Upon launch, it will offer 12 hours of live news programming, presumably to be repeated to fill the 24-hour cycle.

The network said in a statement that it "is uniquely positioned to reverse the information flow from South to North and to provide a voice to under-reported regions around the world."