Al Jazeera Media Network 1 November 1996 following the closure of the first BBC Arabic language television station, then a joint venture with Orbit Communications Company, owned by Saudi King Fahd's cousin, Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud. The BBC channel had closed after a year and a half when the Saudi government attempted to thwart a documentary pertaining to executions under sharia law. The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, provided a loan of QAR 500 million ($137 million) to sustain Al Jazeera through its first five years, as Hugh Miles detailed in his book "Al Jazeera: The Inside Story of the Arab
Al Jazeera 1, Copa del Rey, South American World Cup Qualifier and English Championship matches, in addition to Barca TV. In October 2009 Al Jazeera acquired six sports channels of the ART. On 26 November 2009 Al Jazeera English received approval from the CRTC, which enables Al Jazeera English to broadcast via satellite in Canada. The original Al Jazeera channel is available worldwide through various satellite and cable systems. For availability info of the Al Jazeera network's other TV channels, see their respective articles. Segments of Al Jazeera English are uploaded to YouTube. Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Al Jazeera