Al-Jazeera v Sky

[I am Rod Hull]

Premier League clubs could be in for another huge television cash windfall with a serious challenge to Sky's domination of top-flight domestic TV coverage by al-Jazeera now a "realistic prospect", according to the European head of ESPN.

The possibility of the Qatar-owned broadcaster going head to head with Sky has been the subject of speculation since it beat Canal Plus to the French Ligue 1 and Champions League rights.

Now Ross Hair, the head of ESPN for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, believes al-Jazeera is likely to challenge Sky – a move that if successful would pose a serious threat to the Rupert Murdoch-owned satellite broadcaster.

A bidding war could result in an increased offer for the 2013-16 domestic rights – the current three-year deal is already worth £1.782bn.

Hair told the Evening Standard: "We're expecting another Premier League auction in April or May. An al-Jazeera bid is a realistic prospect. They have done something very interesting in France in buying first division football against the incumbent satellite broadcaster, Canal Plus, and we've also looked at what they've done in other markets.

"You can draw parallels with the upcoming auction in the UK. al-Jazeera have the ambition to grow further in sport and into other markets."

ESPN is also set to bid as it is keen to retain a foothold in the Premier League market. The broadcaster currently show 23 live matches a season.

Premier League football has been the driving force behind Sky's satellite TV success in the UK but it has not had a challenger of such potential before. ESPN picked up the rights of the now defunct UK Setanta operation, rather than bidding for them directly against Sky.

The financial muscle of Qatar has made al-Jazeera a major player in football rights, a process that accelerated when the Middle Eastern country won the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

http://www.guardian....rss+%28Media%29

[AjcW]

Al Jazeera's coverage isn't bad to be fair.

For Champo League games they have our very own Mr Lineker at the helm.

Im pretty sure they use Sky coverage anyway for a lot of the Champo League broadcasts as commentary is provided by the same people who do Sky broadcasts.

I saw an article the other day about how Qatar is slowly but surely buying up little bits of Britain so I'd imagine it wont be long before they run our football too .

[Bluefoxtim]

I need to stop associating Al Jazeera with beheading videos.

[I am Rod Hull]

I need to stop associating Al Jazeera with beheading videos.

Sky have won the rights to beheading`s 2013-2017 and will be shown on their Sky living channel....

[gazfox9]

Sky have won the rights to beheading`s 2013-2017 and will be shown on their Sky living channel....

Which is to be renamed 'sky no longer living'!

[adam1]

Which is to be renamed 'sky no longer living'!

No that will be the name for Sky Living +1

[accessory]

Hope this doesn't mean games will be split between THREE subscription channels.

Some of us fork out enough to the Murdochs as it it is.

[Jon the Hat]

I am sure if Sky don't have the rights, they will make their money from providing the access.

[AjcW]

^^ this is an interesting point is all Al-Jazeeras coverage over in the UAE is provided by sky currently, with either local commentators or British ones for ex pats commentating it.