Al Gore moves from information superhighway to TV

Rethink IT, June, 2004

History, which has a way of confusing facts, may well have Al Gore down as the man that invented the internet, so many words did he say about the 'information superhighway' when he was vice president of the US. Perhaps he should be remembered in reality as the man that over-hyped or over-heated the internet.

Now he plans to take up running a TV network, Newsworld International (NWI), having acquired it last month from Vivendi Universal, with partner Joel Hyatt, for an undisclosed sum.

NWI will be retargeted by its new owners at an audience of 18-34-year-olds, which is precisely the age group which has been switching off in droves across the US, especially the male contingent, preferring games and internet access for much of its entertainment.

NWI, a 24-hour channel dedicated to global news produced by The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, has earned a reputation for offering a comprehensive view of global events. The content will still be supplied by CBC and the channel currently goes out to 17m households.

Gore emphasized that this is not be a political network. The acquisition of NWI was financed by leading equity capital firms.