Qatar-based television station Al-Jazeera has acquired Current TV, the channel founded by former US president Al Gore and business partner Joel Hyatt.
Gore and Hyatt, who created the channel in 2005, confirmed the sale in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal gives Al-Jazeera a bridgehead into the US market: Current TV, although struggling in the ratings, is widely distributed on US cable providers, the Guardian [a UK daily] reports.
According to the paper, Al-Jazeera will close Current TV and replace it with a new network, Al-Jazeera America.
The acquisition could extend Al-Jazeera's reach beyond a few large US metropolitan areas, where some people can watch Al-Jazeera English, the paper added.
