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 America that Al Jazeera America was in existence Al Jazeera English and AJE programs that were shown on Al Jazeera America were Geoblocked in the United States due to agreements with the carriers of Al Jazeera America. Programs from Al Jazeera English not shown on Al Jazeera America (such as "Empire" and "UpFront") were some of the few unblocked during the time and therefore visible on Al Jazeera English's website. In September, 2016, Al Jazeera English's online live stream and the programs which were blocked in the United States during Al Jazeera America's existence were officially un-geoblocked in the United States