Al Jazeera America has been on the air for just about two months and despite being carried in roughly 44 million homes, Americans are apparently not interested in what the Qatar-owned network is offering.
At only about 13,000 viewers a day since its Aug. 20 launch, Al Jazeera America's daily viewership is reportedly less than half what it was under Al Gore's unsuccessful Current TV. The news network was only able to draw in about 5,000 viewers in the coveted 25-to-54-year-old demographic.
To put the awful ratings into perspective, consider that 13,000 daily viewers is about .00029 percent of the total number of households who have access to Al Jazeera America.
Many small cities you have probably never heard of have populations larger than 13,000, including Chickasha, Okla. (16,036) , Hutto, Texas (14,000), McPherson, Kan. (13,218), and Kalispell, Mont. (19,927).
Visitors wait in the lobby of Al-Jazeera America after the network's first broadcast on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 in New York. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera Media Network launched its U.S. outlet only eight months after announcing the new venture, which on Tuesday replaced Al Gore's Current TV in more than 45 million TV homes. Bebeto Matthews/AP
The ratings are so incredibly bad, they aren't even reported by Nielsen and are considered a "scratch," the New York Post reports. Current TV was bringing in about 31,000 daily viewers one year ago.
However, an Al Jazeera America spokesperson revealed the network is still "making large investments in programming and marketing."
With Time Warner Cable recently agreeing to carry the network, Al Jazeera America will be available in about 10 million more U.S. homes.
"Al Jazeera America is trying to attract a US audience despite a deep distrust in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and criticism that it harbors an anti-US bias," the Post adds. "The network’s financial backer, the government of Qatar, paid a hefty $500 million in January to purchase Current TV and gain US distribution."
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