Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore is one of the new owners of 24-hour television channel Newsworld International.

Gore is buying the channel with entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, a former finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee.

The sale price for the channel was not disclosed, although the Wall Street Journal reported last October that Gore's group was negotiating to buy it for about $70 million US.

Al Gore (file picture)

Started by CBC in 1994, and most recently owned by Vivendi Universal, Newsworld International is available in about 17 million U.S. homes. The channel has had several owners since it was started. U.S. cable mogul Barry Diller bought it about three years ago and later sold out to Vivendi.

Programming on the channel will continue to be provided by CBC. Gore will serve as chairman of the board and said he will devote most of his time to the channel.

At the U.S National Cable and Television Association convention in New Orleans, Gore said the channel will focus on issues for 18- to 34-year-old viewers.

"We want to empower this dynamic generation with a network dedicated to them that has integrity and a commitment to excellence," Gore said in a statement.

"This will not be a political network. These stories will be in a voice that young people recognize and from a point of view they identify as their own," he said.

The acquisition of the channel was financed by equity capital firms and individual investors.