The agreement covers TV rights for the UAE PL competitions: Arabian Gulf League, Arabian Gulf Cup, Arabian Gulf League U21 and Arabian Gulf Super Cup for three years with a total value of $106m (AED 390m).
The UAE Pro League announced the signing of a TV broadcast rights agreement between the UAEPL, Abu Dhabi Sports Channels, Dubai Sports Channels & Sharjah Sport Channels on August 19, Monday.
The ceremony was held at the UAEPL headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
In attendance were UAEPL Chairman Abdulla Naser Al Junaibi, Abu Dhabi Sport Channels Chairman Yaqoub Al Saadi, Dubai Sports Channels Vice President Rashid Amiri and Sharjah TV & Radio Corporation’s Support Services Director Ismail Al Hosani.
Commenting on the efforts of the broadcast rights holding channels in developing content, Abdulla Naser Al Junaibi, Chairman, UAEPL said: “These channels are not just right holders, they are a primary partner in the process of developing UAE football.”
The agreement covers TV rights for the UAE PL competitions: Arabian Gulf League, Arabian Gulf Cup, Arabian Gulf League U21 and Arabian Gulf Super Cup for three years with a total value of $106m (AED 390m).
Al Junaibi added: “We worked on improving the level of TV broadcast services by adding new features that benefit viewers, commentators, pundits and the media in general in terms of statistics and data. In the past, we presented heat maps which will continue into this season. We worked on upgrading TV graphics and the overall visual identity to fit our new identity. We hope that, in collaboration with our partners in the sport channels, we can offer enjoyable visual content in line with the growing status of the league.”
“We were also keen to include English commentary in all matches in order to expand following of the league amongst all nationalities. In the past we had one match a week covered in English and it was on Abu Dhabi Sports Channel only, now all games will have English commentary on all channels.”
Al Saddi noted: “As sports channels, we are partners in presenting the right image of UAE PL competitions which demonstrates the level of progress in UAE, and we promise to deliver excellence to our viewers.”
Amiri added: “We are aiming to spread the message to all five continents. TV broadcast for the league started in 1973, and now after this three-year deal with the UAEPL, we want viewers all over the world to be able to watch the Arabian Gulf League.”
Sharjah TV & Radio Corporation’s Director of Support Services, Al Hosani, expressed his delight to be part of this ceremony at the start of the 2019-20 season, adding that he hoped Sharjah Sports Channels could become an integral part of the set up alongside Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sports Channels.
