By Yasmeen Badawy
UAE football fans were worried that they might be missing out on the Fifa World Cup action seeing as beIN Sports, which has exclusive rights to broadcast all 64 matches across the Gulf and the Middle East region, went off-air on the only two telecom companies showing channels from beIN in the UAE, Du, and Etisalat.
The Qatar-based broadcasting channel made the announcement that it will be unavailable 11 days before the World Cup starts and on the evening of a diplomatic dispute between the UAE and Qatar which left football fans all over the UAE frustrated.
The beIN Sports channel disappeared without any explanation; however, aside from political tensions, beIN said its channels were being pirated in a sophisticated operation across the region, with pictures broadcast illegally by a company called beoutQ which might be one of the reasons why it took action against the UAE. However, one day later, an official announcement from Du followed the panic that set in the Du subscribers confirming that all 64 World Cup matches will be broadcast in full HD through a standalone package that customers can subscribe to. A report from Gulf Business, gives a bit more clarification as to why the channels went off-air in the first place. Du had apparently failed to reach a suitable negotiation with the Qatar-based beIN Sports when its initial broadcast agreement ended on May 31.
After a couple of days of frustration that they might miss the 2018 World Cup, football fans were reassured when Etisalat announced on Sunday that it will be broadcasting the World Cup as a standalone package for its customers. The package will cost 555DHS (excluding VAT) and be available on channel 777 of its eLife service. Moreover, Gulf News said that all beIN Sport channels “are working as normal”. Du also announced the launch of four exclusive beIN Sports channels for the World Cup. The package includes live coverage of all 64 World Cup matches in full HD and will cost Dhs551 (excluding VAT). The alternative is to watch the matches online via satellite packages, but it’s just not the same experience as watching games on the big screen. So, the BeIN channels are back and you can now watch the World Cup safely and without a hassle.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t Worry UAE Football Fans, You Will Not Miss The Big Game
