AL JAZEERA FINANCED FROM SELLING FOOTAGE

[Sadoun]

Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel, criticized by U.S. officials for its war coverage, is a favorite with rivals worldwide. The Arab-language network pays most of its expenses with fees it collects from other channels that use its news footage. Executives at News Corp's Fox News Channel, Viacom Inc.'s CBS and General Electric Co.'s NBC said their companies pay Al-Jazeera for the right to use whatever footage they choose, from exclusive video of Baghdad to captured U.S. soldiers. The U.S.-based broadcasters declined to say how much they pay. The fees are enough to keep Al-Jazeera, started in 1996 by Qatar's emir with a $150 million Investment, from having to ask its benefactor for more money, according to Al-Jazeera's marketing chief, Jihad Ali Ballout. Ballout said fees from TV networks are the single biggest contributor to Al-Jazeera's revenue, which he said totals ``just less than $30 million'' per year. The fees, which Al-Jazeera started to collect at the end of 2001 when the emir's start-up money ran out, let Al-Jazeera come ``very, very close'' to meeting its operating expenses, which include salaries, he said. Ballout said the channel has ``not a great deal'' of debt and the Qatari government covers some costs outside the operating budget. Al-Jazeera has 35 million viewers, Ballout said.