Al-Jazeera English finally has a presence on cable in New York City. Beginning today (Monday) it was being carried via Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS in the nation's largest market as the result of a kind of subleasing arrangement with RISE, previously a Spanish-language channel. Al-Jazeera reportedly has been in discussions with numerous other cable systems over the past several months as its coverage of unrest in The Middle East continues to receive high praise from U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Today's New York Times quoted experts as saying that al-Jazeera's inability to land an outlet on major cable systems in the U.S. has less to do with politics than it does with the fact that it is not part of a major media conglomerate. "It's all about leverage in this business, and they don't have any," cable consultant Paul Maxwell told the Times. And, in an interview with the newspaper, Al Ansley, managing director of al-Jazeera English, maintained that the channel is not seeking large carriage fees from the cable companies. "Revenue is not our priority. It's being seen," he said.

01/08/2011