Broadcast giants snub al-Jazeera English network

America’s major satellite and cable giants have snubbed Al-Jazeera’s English-language network, which begins today.

The news network, based in Doha, Qatar, which has drawn the ire of the US government and other western powers over its broadcasts of al-Qaida statements and its coverage of the Iraq war, said it would be available to computer users via a broadband internet connection.