Hong Kong – Al Jazeera English has signed a carriage deal with Hong Kong Cable Ltd for the news channel to land in the Special Administration Region. Debuting Jan 16 on Hong Kong Cable’s channel 34, Al Jazeera English reaches a “sizeable new audience” in an “important market” that is Hong Kong, said Phil Lawrie, Al Jazeera Network’s Director of Global Distribution. The new deal also helps Al Jazeera English’s distribution to continue expanding beyond 100 million households worldwide since its Nov 2006 launch. Lawrie said, “This agreement underlines the importance of the Asian region to our next phase of growth and we are looking forward to a long and highly successful relationship with Hong Kong Cable.” Al Jazeera English is the first English language global news and current affairs channel to be headquartered in the Middle East, in Doha, Qatar. The network is looking to build its presence in Asia where its editorial operations are supported by the Kuala Lumpur Broadcast Centre and various Asian bureaux and correspondents.