Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Al Gore’s Current TV Sold For $500 Million to Al Jazeera

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UPDATE:  All of this is probably moot this evening as CurrentTV has been sold to Al Jazeera for $500 million. They’re going to shut it down and start a new American based version of their own channel using CurrentTV as its foundation. Don’t know how my pal Joy Behar will fit into that– Al Jazeera is not a lot of laughs.

Al Gore’s Current TV cable channel–which I’ve never been able to find — is in danger of being dropped by Time Warner Cable. New York subscribers received a notice today that Current TV was one of many staples on the cable box — those channels where you’re not sure what’s going on and a few that are brand names–which aren’t financially feasible to carry anymore. Ovation, the arts channel, has already been dropped. Time Warner Cable is not owned anymore by Time Warner, they just have the name, and their service in the New York area has been a big problem ever since Hurricane Sandy.

Here’s the list of channels that could be gone very soon. I’m surprised about Starz, which carries decent original programming even thought they recently cancelled “Boss.” Not surprised about ShopNBC, where two guys hawk quartz watches in the middle of the night. And Lifetime! Not Lifetime! Also, the NHL isn’t even playing hockey. Who would be watching their channels right now? What are they showing? Ice? Melting?

The notice reads:

“Time Warner Cable’s agreements with programmers and broadcasters to carry their services and stations routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, but in order to comply with applicable regulations, we must inform you when an agreement is about to expire. The following agreements are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future:

AAJ, Africa Channel, Africa Channel HD, Chinese Channel, Chinese Cinema, CNC World, Current TV, E!, E! HD, Ecuavisa, Encore, Encore HD, Encore Action, Encore Drama, Encore Love, Encore Suspense, Encore Family, Encore Westerns, GOL TV, GOL TV HD, Hallmark, Hallmark HD, Hallmark Movie Channel HD, Halogen, IFC, IFC HD, Jus Punjabi, KBN, LATV, Lifetime, Lifetime HD, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Movie Network HD, Lifetime Real Women, Media Korea TV (MKTV), Music Choice, News 12, NHL Center Ice, NHL Network, NHL Network HD, Ovation, Ovation HD, Polski Radio, ShopNBC, Smithsonian HD, STARZ!, STARZ! HD, Starz Cinema, Starz Comedy, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge, Starz Edge HD, Starz in Black, Starz Kids and Family, Starz Kids and Family HD, Style Network, Style Network HD, Supercanal, Telemicro International, The Bangladesh Channel, TV Polonia, WE, WE HD, and Youtoo TV.”

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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