Football fans in the region – who use satellite TV to watch matches – have expressed their disappointment in having to fork out Dh1,000 to gain access to the English Premier League (EPL). That’s approximately Dh650 more than for cable TV users.
With the EPL scheduled to begin in less than a week (August 14), fans have been rushing to obtain their subscription for Abu Dhabi Sports, which is part of the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC). ADMC holds the MENA-region television and digital broadcast rights for the EPL for the 2010-2013 seasons, after taking over from the Orbit Showtime Network (OSN).
In the past MENA-region deal, new OSN subscribers obtained a free receiver and only had to pay a monthly subscription fee to obtain EPL. Now, users have to pay Dh999 for a high definition (HD) Humax receiver, plus access to games for a year.
And customers won’t be able to buy just a smart card as previously believed. Upon calling Abu Dhabi Sport’s sales call centre, it was confirmed that smart cards that could be used in customers’ existing receivers are not available, and that there are no plans to start producing them. Emirates Business
