Current co-founder Joel Hyatt has confirmed that the US-based network has been sold to Middle Eastern TV conglomerate Al Jazeera. Earlier today the New York times reported that the pan-Arab news giant, based in Doha, Qatar, had expressed an interest in purchasing the network.

The purchase brings Al Jazeera closer to its goal of having a network in the US. It will now be known as Al Jazeera America and co-founder and former US Vice President Al Gore will serve on its "advisory board".

Al Jazeera is also purchasing Current TV's carriage deals with DirecTV, Comcast, Dish, Verizon, and AT&T. Time Warner Cable (which represents a good percentage of the network's total reach) was not included in the package.