In what has been dubbed its “CNN moment”, Arabic news channel al Jazeera is said to be poised for what it has long crazed, a major cable or satellite distribution deal in the US following its coverage of the ongoing Egyptian protests.

The station’s transformation from villain to hero stateside is said to have seen Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton tune in regularly whilst keeping abreast of developments.

Critical to this success has been the establishment of al-Jazeera English, a separate entity from the main Arabic channel it is staffed predominantly by western TV journalists but retains strong links with the Arab world.

It is headed up by Al Anstey, a former ITN executive, who described the past week as “extraordinary” for his channel and “historic” for “Egypt”. "We are being seen worldwide as a channel of reference on this story. There has been an exponential increase in the recognition of exactly what it is we do and the quality of our journalism and content. I always say the best way of addressing any misconceptions about al-Jazeera English is to switch on and watch," Anstey said.

Al-Jazeera English is available in the UK via Freeview, Sky or Freesat but political sensitivities in the US have seen its reach limited to a mere 3m homes. This has left viewers across the pond resorting to Youtube and the channel’s live website streams to get their fix.