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 English allowing unlimited viewing may be purchased from Jump TV, RealPlayer, and VDC. Al Jazeera English is also available on YouTube. Headlines from Al Jazeera English are available on Twitter. Al Jazeera English's website also contains news reports and full episodes of their programs that can be viewed for free on their website. The videos are hosted by YouTube, where viewers can also go to find the videos. Al Jazeera English is available in the UK and Ireland on Freeview channel 108 (HD), Sky channel 514, Freesat channel 203 and Virgin Media channel 622. The channel initially began test streaming Al