Al Jazeera at 30: three Arabic channels and a push into AI
The Qatari network is reorganising its Arabic output around three channels with distinct profiles. An AI initiative with Google Cloud launches on Nov. 1. 'AI enables the human, it does not replace him,' its chief says.
Archive image · Photo: Wittylama / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The Al Jazeera Media Network is marking its 30th anniversary with a sweeping overhaul. The broadcaster launched in Qatar on Nov. 1, 1996. Its Arabic output will now consist of three channels: Al Jazeera Mubasher with live coverage without commentary, the new Al Jazeera Now for breaking news without a fixed schedule, and the flagship Al Jazeera Arabic, which will shift towards in-depth analysis and investigative journalism.
Plans include 33 programmes under the slogan "Your questions are our questions" and digital platforms on Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and Syria. On Nov. 1 the first phase of the AI initiative "The Core", announced in December 2025 with Google Cloud, will launch. A cultural channel is provisionally planned for late 2027.
"Our fourth decade will be defined by three priorities: immediacy, understanding and the human dimension," said Director General Sheikh Nasser bin Faisal Al Thani. "Artificial intelligence enables the human and does not replace him," he added. Al Jazeera Arabic managing director Asef Hamidi called the changes a "new renaissance".