Official: JSC takes over art sport channels

[isenguard]

It is official now. Aljazeera Sport buys ART sport channels with all the rights it has. Cost of the deal not disclosed.

so, Fifa Worldcup 2010 and 2014 will be on JSC

JSC already has the rights of : Spanish Liga, Italian Calcio, UEFA Champions League, Europa Cup, EURO Championship .....etc

The only Championship outside JSC now is the English Premiership

JSC is becoming another SKY in the middle east ( but for far cheaper price)

regards

 

[sofien72tu]

The deal is now confirmed.

ART, in a statement fro m Al Jazeera's offices in Doha, Qatar, says the deal was signed November 24.

"Al Jazeera Network acquires ART's sport content and associated ART sport trademarks," said the statement. "ART shall continue to act as host broadcaster for the Saudi Football Federation competitions and to transmit the matches on ART Sport 7 jointly with Al Jazeera Sport Channels until the end of the 2010-2011 season. ART Sport 7 will be available on Al Jazeera Sport Channel bouquet."

Terms of the deal were not revealed but they are believed to be close to $2bn.

"Al Jazeera Sport Channel will add a wide array of sport events to the span of its exclusive right portfolio including the FIFA World Cup 2010 and 2014, the African Cup of Nations from 2010 to 2016, several football national league championships from the MENA region and all Saudi League and national team matches," said the statement.

"Al Jazeera Sport Channel will continue transmitting the exclusive rights of La Ligua, Italian Football Seri A, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Euro Cup 2012 & 2016 and many other sports events."

"ART will distribute Al Jazeera Sport Channels +1 to +8 only on a non- exclusive basis as part of the new ART bouquets," added ART. "ART Sport and Al Jazeera Sport subscribers will be able to access free sports channels from both ART Sport and Al Jazeera's Sport bouquets, for a period of one month starting from December 1, 2009."

ART Sport channels 1 to 6 will cease to be transmitted on December 31st 2010. "ART subscribers will be able to continue to enjoy their sports programmes on Al Jazeera Sport channels as part of the ART bouquet."

 

[Dobe7777]

Update,,More detail on Tuesday's Arab Radio & Television's deal with Al Jazeera that sees all of ART's sports contracts trans



More detail on Tuesday's Arab Radio & Television's deal
The deal means more upheaval for Mid-East pay-TV viewers and follows on from the Showtime Arabia take-over of Orbit announced last July. with Al Jazeera that sees all of ART's sports contracts transferred to Al Jazeera.



In essence Al Jazeera is paying close to $2bn to pick up the ART contracts.Our business model is going to move toward the next stage where we will be a kind of platform, more than channels, Tamimi added. As a platform, we can provide our subscribers other channels through our receiver.
It is understood that Al Jazeera can sell its own so-called ‘smart cards' but will also see its programming sold through ART's new super-secure set-top boxes.

Nawaf Tamimi, the ART head of public relations, speaking in Doha, said the changed pay-TV landscape after the Showtime/Orbit deal combined with pressures from the recession helped create the conditions for the sale. It's a good time to sell, to be honest.

Tamimi said. "The competition has changed with new, strong players coming into the pay-TV market. You have the recession, which is a globally difficult time economically for everybody. And you have this content, the World Cup, which is very valuable, and a party who are interested to buy."



Tamimi said ART was planning to offer less expensive packages in the future. Currently, the basic family package on ART, which includes 24 channels of sports and entertainment, costs about $16 a month depending on the territory. Looking ahead, the company plans to offer basic packages, without World Cup access, for about $150 a year, he said. The price of packages with the World Cup has yet to be decided.