Al Jazeera November 1996. It offered 6 hours of programming per day; increased to 12 hours by the end of 1997. It was broadcast to the immediate neighborhood as a terrestrial signal, and on cable, as well as through satellites (which was also free to users in the Arab world), although Qatar, and many other Arab countries, barred private individuals from having satellite dishes until 2001. At the time of the Al Jazeera Media Network launch Arabsat was the only satellite broadcasting to the Middle East, and for the first year could only offer Al Jazeera a weak C-band transponder that needed
Al Jazeera America its production staff and possibly some programs, and using the company's distribution network to broadcast Al Jazeera America. Current TV, by coincidence, was formerly Newsworld International, an international news channel similar to Al Jazeera America run by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. On July 22, 2013, Al Jazeera America named former ABC News Vice President Kate O'Brian as president of the network, and Ehab Al Shihabi as interim CEO in charge of business affairs. In addition, former CNN veteran David Doss was named Vice President of News Programming and former CBS News executive Marcy McGinnis was named Vice President of News