Al Jazeera Balkans Relaunches as a Digital-First Service

Al Jazeera Balkans relaunched on November 1, 2026, as a digital-first platform, meaning its work is built around online audiences rather than television. The service is available at balkans.aljazeera.net and on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X and Threads, according to Al Jazeera.

The Balkans service first launched in 2011. Its television channel shut down in 2025, and the network has now returned under the new format. In the weeks before the November 1 relaunch, its content generated close to 100 million views across social media.

The relaunched service includes a dedicated Balkans section with country-specific news for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and North Macedonia. It plans to produce short-form videos, explainers and podcasts, the kinds of material designed to be watched or heard on a phone in a few minutes. It will also give particular attention to Balkan diaspora communities, the people who have moved abroad from the region and their families, in Germany and the United States.

The relaunch comes within a broader change at the network. On October 29, Al Jazeera unveiled a new structure with three channels and 33 programmes to mark its 30th anniversary, according to Al Jazeera.

Jamal Elshayyal is Al Jazeera's Director of Digital News Content and Languages.