Al Jazeera America settles suit with AT&T over channel

Al-Jazeera America and AT&T settled a lawsuit filed last year by the broadcaster after its US cable channel was dropped from the telecom giant's lineup, court documents show.

Documents in Delaware Chancery Court, where the lawsuit was filed, said a settlement had been reached, but no details were disclosed.

The Qatar-based broadcaster sued last August claiming AT&T breached its contractual obligations by dropping the English-language channel when it launched in the United States.

AT&T at the time said the operator's U-Verse television systems were not required to carry Al-Jazeera, despite previously carrying Current TV, which was bought out by the Qatari group.

Neither company commented on the news of the settlement.

The channel, operated by the media group behind the Middle East's biggest satellite broadcaster, was accompanied by a big promotional push, and it pledged to outdo its rivals with serious, in-depth journalism.

In October, Al-Jazeera struck a deal for a spot on Time Warner Cable, bring the total number of US households reached by its channel to 55 million.