Al Jazeera America's headquarters in New York City were flooded earlier Friday, causing a temporary evacuation of the building, Mediabistro.com reports.
Staffers were blocked from entering the building because of the incident, which comes just four days before AJAM is scheduled to launch across the U.S.. The flooding also began less than an hour after a throng of reporters toured the space to check out AJAM’s New York City newsroom and studio:
"We are working to repair a water line that burst on one of the upper floors," said Ann Peterson, President and GM of the New Yorker Hotel, in a statement to TVNewser. "This caused water damage to our guest rooms, our public space, our tenants and our neighbors. The pipe has been shut down and repairs are underway."
All in all, it is another growing pain for the channel, albeit a useful one to have before launch, rather than after it. Another issue AJAM is looking to resolve: Current TV did not have wide HD distribution, so while AJAM will launch in HD, its HD carriage is expected to be limited. Future carriage deals will likely change that.
Al Jazeera purchased struggling Current TV, founded by Al Gore in 2005, for $500 million earlier this year.
[H/T Politico]