Al Jazeera Sport Scores Premier League Rights

DOHA: Al Jazeera Sport has picked up the rights to Barclays Premier League action in the Middle East and North Africa for a three-year period beginning next month with the 2013-2014 season.

The sports broadcaster clinched the deal for British football with MP & Silva, giving it the exclusive rights to 380 Premier League matches across all platforms in 23 markets across the Middle East and North Africa, including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Al Jazeera Sport will launch three new channels to deliver its Premier League coverage. It already operates 19 channels in the region. The matches were previously aired on Abu Dhabi Media.

"We are extremely excited by the addition of the Barclays Premier League for the next three year cycle, the value that this can add to our customer proposition and extending further our portfolio of top European football," said Nasser Al Khelaifi, chairman of Al Jazeera Sport.

Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Scudamore, added, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Al Jazeera Sport as a new partner in Middle East [and] North Africa. We look forward to working with them and are confident they will broadcast the Barclays Premier League in a comprehensive and innovative manner to our fans in the region.”