Al Jazeera Balkans current affairs, business, technology, and sports highlights. On 22 September 2010, after months of speculation, the Qatari government-owned Al Jazeera Media Network announced the US$1.56 million purchase of NTV 99, a local channel based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Named Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB), the project was envisioned as "a leader in providing high quality news and current affairs in the region [of former Yugoslavia]" with planned offices throughout the Balkans and bureaus in key locations worldwide. Soon after the purchase announcement, Al Jazeera made a lease agreement with BBI Real Estate regarding the usage of the 800m space at
Al Jazeera The network remained dependent on government support in 2002, with a budget of $40 million and ad revenues of about $8 million. It also took in fees for sharing its news feed with other networks. It had an estimated 45 million viewers around the world. Al Jazeera soon had to contend with a new rival, Al Arabiya, an offshoot of the Middle East Broadcasting Center, which was set up in nearby Dubai with Saudi financial backing. Before and during the United States-led invasion of Iraq, where Al Jazeera had a presence since 1997, the network's facilities and footage were again