Abu Dhabi Sports scores with hat-trick of new football content

Abu Dhabi Sports has secured the exclusive rights to three new strands of international football content.  The Russian Premier League, the Indian Soccer League and the German Bayern Munich Club Channel will start being broadcast on Abu Dhabi Media’s sports channels from later this month.

Abdul Hadi Al Sheikh, Executive Director of Abu Dhabi TV Network, hailed the new content as a clear example of Abu Dhabi Media’s comprehensive strategy to bring creativity, innovation and world-class content to its channels.

"We are very excited to be bringing these new offerings to our viewers. This acquisition is part of Abu Dhabi Sports’ new strategy that took place in the channels’ relaunch last August 2015, and aims to enhance our content offerings by reaching to new segments of football and sports fans.”

Mr Al Sheikh pointed out that Emirati producers and television executives initiated the plan to offer new and exciting international football content for Abu Dhabi Sports viewers. 

He said the award of the exclusive coverage rights to Abu Dhabi Sports was part of a wider strategic development process recently launched by Abu Dhabi TV Network.

Mr Al Sheikh stressed that, since its establishment, Abu Dhabi Sports has been a leader in major sports events coverage from around the world. The company’s new sports programming formats include broadcasting rights for the Supercoppa Italiana, the Coppa Italia and the qualifiers for the UEFA European Championship, in addition to the new content announced today.

Russian Premier League

Abu Dhabi Sports will broadcast matches of the Russian Premier League football championship, known as Sogaz, during the 2015-2016 season. The tournament brings together 16 teams, including FC Dynamo Moscow, a three-time title winner over the past four seasons.

Abu Dhabi Sports executives said that their selection of the Russian Premier League is due to the growing global interest in football in Russia, host nation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. 

Indian Soccer League

Abu Dhabi Sports will broadcast the second season of the Indian Soccer League, after the success of the first season in which Atlético de Kolkata beat the Kerala Blasters FC in the final.

Eight teams are competing in the second season, which runs from October to December.

Abu Dhabi Sports executives welcomed the inclusion of the Indian Soccer League as part of the company’s ongoing initiative to meet the needs of the various nationalities residing in the UAE. The League is considered to be one of the Indian community’s major new sports viewing events.

Bayern Munich TV 

Abu Dhabi Sports has also acquired the exclusive broadcasting rights for FCB TV, the official channel of FC Bayern Munich, Germany's most successful club and the Bundesliga champions for the last three seasons.  Bayern Munich has won the Bundesliga a record 23 times and the UEFA Champions League five times. 

Abu Dhabi Sports subscribers will see exclusive coverage of all Bayern Munich’s UEFA Champions League and DFB Cup matches. Fans will also have unrivalled behind-the-scenes access to the players and coaching staff at the Allianz Arena and training ground.  Each of the three-hour international HD programmes features a game,  player interviews and press conferences.