Al Jazeera was launched on 15 November 2006, at 12:00 PM GMT. It had aimed to begin broadcasting in June 2006 but had to postpone its launch because its HDTV technology was not yet ready. The channel was due to be called Al Jazeera International, but the name was changed nine months before the launch because one of the channel’s backers argued that the original Arabic-language channel already had an international scope.

In addition to those listed below, Al Jazeera English runs various programmes that are either entirely non-recurrent or consist of just a limited number of parts (miniseries format known as Special Series). All self-owned programmes, including former shows are shown in their entirety on Al Jazeera’s website and YouTube. Licensed documentaries are available only on the website for a limited period of time, however.