|
 The Abu Dhabi Media Company has dropped some hints as to how it will present and price its newly-acquired
English Premier League broadcast rights, suggesting that the monthly cost for subscribers will be “equal to the value of a KFC meal”.
This is according to Mohammed Najib, head of the Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, speaking to Emirates Business 24/7. As KFC meals can range from about Dhs15 to Dhs60, this doesn’t necessarily give any particular insight into the pricing – but it certainly makes it sound good.
ADMC would be going after the maximum number of viewers, Najib told the paper, and would be pricing EPL packages accordingly.
With current rights holder Showtime the EPL is bundled into its regular packages, with the lowest-priced package carrying the sports channels costing Dhs195 a month.
Najib also bigged up the calibre of the (unannounced) presenters and pundits ADMC will be using: “The names of Western football experts will create a pleasing surprise for our audience once they are officially contracted with and announced.”
However, Najib himself is apparently not yet sure who’ll be on the roster, telling EB 24/7: “There are very famous Western names on my mind that we will be contacting to present and analyse the games on Abu Dhabi Sports Channels.”
We’re not going to blame ADMC for wanting to hype things up, though – but we are still a year away from the first EPL broadcast from Abu Dhabi’s budding media goliath, so we’re not going to get too excited yet.
Other non-revelations in EB 24/7 include the fact that ADMC will be championing Abu Dhabi-owned and Etihad-sponsored Manchester City (“it is a story of success that every Emirati should be involved in”, apparently. No, really), and that, however much ADMC paid for the Premier League rights, it was totally worth it, dude.
“I can tell you that Sky Sports, the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland, purchased the rights of the Premier League football for $1.7 billion (Dhs6.2 billion) and this happened during the middle of the global financial crisis. This means that anything can be impacted by the crisis with the exception of the Premier League,” said Najib.
Blimey, all this excitement over 22 guys with bad hair cuts and attitude problems, kicking a ball about. Whatever is the world coming to, etc etc.
|
