Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) has announced it will broadcast English Premier League (EPL) matches on the internet from the start of next season.
The National reports that the broadcaster will not resell its rights to a pay-TV broadcaster or sublicense them to a terrestrial channel as expected.
Instead it will offer the matches over broadband internet in the Middle East and North Africa region.
ADMC chief executive Edward Borgerding told the paper: “Broadband is growing. Etisalat and du are taking broadband to people’s homes. Why don’t you just distribute football games online at zero cost? Well, that’s what we intend to do.”
ADMC won a three-year contract for exclusive regional rights to broadcast the EPL last year, taking it from Orbit Showtime.
ADMC’s television offering is made up of free-to-air satellite channels which are restricted from broadcasting EPL games, so it was assumed by many that the firm would seek a partnership with a paid-for TV operator.
But instead it has decided to go down the internet route, with viewers paying a $15 monthly fee for the rights to stream games through online video.
“This is something that we are going to try to drive into the marketplace in the Middle East now,” Borgerding added.
“We are going to price it differentially, because it’s cheaper to do it online. We want to drive people to do this because it’s in our self interest to do this.”
