Al Jazeera English, the spinoff of the Arabic-language news channel underwritten by the emir of Qatar, is a worldwide network – except in the U.S.

From Saturday’s Boston Globe:

Based in Qatar, Al Jazeera English reaches 220 million house holds in more than 100 countries, yet it is available on a full-time basis to only a tiny sliver of US cable TV subscribers in three domestic markets: Toledo, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; and Burlington, Vt., a modest-sized (population 42,400), university-centric city in the northwestern corner of the state.

D.C. you can understand; Burlington is nicely explained in Joseph P. Kahn’s Globe piece.

But Toledo?

Turns out the home of the Mud Hens has a significant Arab-Muslim population, which accounts for Al Jazeera English being available there since 2007.

And proudly so. From a recent Toledo Blade editorial:

Buckeye Cable, owned by Blade parent company Block Communications Inc., brings Al Jazeera English to viewers in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

Since the revolutions in the Middle East began earlier this year, interest in Al Jazeera’s coverage has grown. More Americans are accessing its English channel online for in-depth reports on the region. Unlike most U.S. news organizations, Al Jazeera is opening more foreign bureaus.

It may be time for more American cable and satellite carriers to give Al Jazeera a look.

Yeah. Like all of them.