Al Jazeera America announces expansion plans, despite low viewership

The cable news network, Al Jazeera America, has announced a major expansion plan, despite reports of low viewership initially.

Qatar-based network said it will be opening more U.S. bureaus, hiring more staff and creating more original programming, the New York Daily News reports.

The programming will include a morning news program, weekly sports program, weekly culture show and multiple new documentary series, with a renewed emphasis on investigative reporting, the report added.

The network also said that it will move all its operations to a new "state of the art" headquarters in Manhattan within the next 18 months.

Al Jazeera America was launched in August with a number of reporters, hosts and executives from other U.S. media outlets on board, but was only available in about 44 out-of-the-100 million homes.

A deal with Time Warner will allow the channel to reach 54 million homes now, the report added.

Many Americans still see the network as a voice of Middle Eastern interests.

When the channel was launched, Nielsen could not accurately estimate its ratings as its audience was very low, which could have been anywhere from 25,000 to 40,000 people at any given time.