(3 July 2012 2:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English, Qatar government-owned news and current affairs channel, has launched on Australia's leading Pay-TV platform, Foxtel.

The channel is now available to Foxtel viewers on number 651.

Al Jazeera English's launch on Foxtel will enable the channel to reach an additional 1.6 million Australian households, taking its total reach across the country to over 2.3 million households. Globally, Al Jazeera English is available in over 260 million households across 130 different countries.

Al Jazeera has over 60 bureaus across all the continents of the world with a dedicated team of journalists reporting from the channel's Sydney bureau.

"I would like to welcome all our new Foxtel viewers to Al Jazeera English. Australians have been some of the keenest visitors to our website over the years, an indication of the appetite there is in the country for compelling international news and programmes," said Al Jazeera English MD Al Anstey.