…. see below post because apparently it worked.

New York Times – Al Gore’s Current TV was never popular with viewers, but it was a hit where it counted: with cable and satellite providers. When he co-founded the channel in 2005, Mr. Gore managed to get the channel piped into tens of millions of households — a huge number for an untested network — through a combination of personal lobbying and arm-twisting of industry giants.

al-jazeeraalgore

He called on those skills again after deciding in December to sell Current TV toAl Jazeera for $500 million. To preserve the deal — and the estimated $100 million he would personally receive — he went to some of those same distributors, who were looking for an excuse to drop the low-rated channel, and reminded them that their contracts with Current TV called it a news channel. Were the distributors going to say that an American version of Al Jazeera didn’t qualify, possibly invoking ugly stereotypes of the Middle Eastern news giant?

“The lawyers for the carriers couldn’t find their way around it,” said a person briefed on the negotiations who described them on condition of anonymity.  (More)

Which I can confirm.  I personally sent a letter to my TV provider and rec’d the following response:

Subject
—————————————————————
Al Jazeerra Programming

Discussion Thread
—————————————————————
Response Via Email(Jennyrose N. – 100407803) – 01/04/2013 07:12 AM
Dear XXXXX,

Thank you for writing about the sale of Current TV. At this time we are
contractually obligated to continue carrying Current TV but we will review our
options once we’ve had a chance to evaluate the new landscape. We appreciate
your feedback about the programming we offer. We often make improvements to our
services based on customer suggestions to ensure that we continue to meet and
surpass customers needs.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Sincerely,

Jennyrose N.- 100407803
DIRECTV Customer Service

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