Al Jazeera America to Limit Commercials

One of the most surprising revelations in a call today with interim Al Jazeera CEO Ehab El Shihabi and president of newsgathering Kate O'Brian was that, unlike its more ad-heavy competitors, Al Jazeera America will have only six minutes per hour of commercials when it launches on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

According to adweek.com, El Shihabi described the limited advertising as "one of our key competitive advantages," emphasizing the company's commitment to serious news over punditry and movie stars.

"There will be less opinion, less yelling, and fewer celebrity sightings," said El Shihabi. "We are not infotainment."

The exec asserted forcefully that the programming would satisfy a huge, untapped audience. "We know that there is a desire for the kind of journalism we will have on Al Jazeera America," he said. "Americans want to have more in-depth coverage and less opinion; that is what we will have, and that is how Al Jazeera operates."

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