Desperate housewives and ambitious apprentices, naked chefs and conscientious crime scene investigators, visiting aliens and lost travellers — television in the UAE has never been better.
As pay TV channels race to offer viewers the ultimate bouquets (packages) in entertainment options, consumers are eagerly lapping up everything from action-packed premier league matches to Emmy-winning series.
The upcoming FIFA World Cup is yet another exciting event that promises to hold viewers captive. In fact, in 2002, it was estimated that more than 28 million people watched the world’s best football teams battle for the FIFA World Cup that, undoubtedly, is one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. This year, the estimated figures put viewership well over 30 million. About 300 channels have been awarded the right to broadcast the matches in 200 countries including the UAE.
Several pay television broadcasters in the UAE have special offers and promotions to encourage viewers to sign up for more than 40,000 hours of spectacular footwork in around 64 matches. One of these is the Arab Digital Distribution (ADD), which is one of the leading digital pay TV platform management companies in the Middle East. ADD currently offers three premium entertainment bouquets with flexible subscription options: ART (Arabic family entertainment), Pehla (Asian entertainment) and FirstNet (international entertainment).
“The live and exclusive telecast of the FIFA World Cup is being brought to viewers in this region by ART, the official broadcaster of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and is available on ART, FirstNet and Pehla. In addition to their direct-to-home (DTH) subscribers, ADD has signed an agreement with E-Vision to ensure that subscribers to Al Awael Cable, e-FirstNet and e-Pehla enjoy FIFA 2006 World Cup,” says Vinod D'Mello, Executive Vice-President — Group Strategy and Planning, Arab Digital Distribution.
ADD has been promoting FIFA World Cup for over a year with various flexible subscription options to encourage subscribers to avail of promotional offers for subscribing early for the event. The current FIFA packages under ART include the ART Basic and Arab Champions League package. The package is priced at Dh60 per month (payment for 36 months in advance) and gives viewers the chance to watch the World Cup free.
You can also watch the matches for no extra cost if you take the ART world package for 18 months at Dh239 per month (payment for 18 months in advance), or subscribe only to the World Cup package at a fee of Dh1,762. FirstNet subscribers get this offer, or they can subscribe to the FirstNet premium package, where they get 12 months of FirstNet premium and the FIFA World Cup thrown in for Dh145 per month (one year) plus an additional Dh862.
Firstnet Premium subscribers, paying 18 months in advance, can enjoy the FIFA World Cup coverage free. Pehla Gold is offering FIFA coverage at Dh213 per month (one year) plus an additional Dh862 for the World Cup package.
The Pehla Silver package is for a year at Dh143 per month plus an additional Dh862 for the World Cup package. Alternatively, you can subscribe only to the World Cup package for Dh1,762. Pehla Silver and Gold subscribers paying 18 months in advance can enjoy the FIFA World Cup coverage free.
Cable TV provider E-Vision’s tie-up with ADD will offer more than 500,000 viewers in 300,000 homes in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain and Ajman, the opportunity to view the FIFA World Cup.
According to Humaid Rashid Sahoo, CEO, E-Vision, “ADD’s choice for E-Vision is linked to the quality and value-added services provided by E-Vision. We offered coverage of the FIFA World Cup in 2002. Since then we have capitalised on our partnership with the ADD Network, the largest pay TV platform management company in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, to bring the best coverage for the most popular events from around the globe. This definitely meets our promise of providing our customers with the best in TV entertainment through just one cable.”
“E-Vision customers can now enjoy the world’s largest sporting event through ART sports channels dedicated to the World Cup. This is in addition to the prime channels exclusively showcasing major sports events such as the World Cup, the English Premier League, the Winter Olympics and others,” says Sahoo.
According to Sahoo, E-vision has also initiated a major marketing and communication campaign that includes several offers and competitions. In an attempt to assure their customers receive the best services, the cable provider has enhanced its distribution channels to cope with the high demand due from UAE residents. The company has also increased the number of staff including customer-service employees along with the 24-by-seven contact centre staff dedicated to servicing the World Cup package subscribers.
Other important sporting events can also be viewed on Showtime’s two new channels Sportsnet World and Sports America. These channels will be strong contenders in the sports viewing team with the introduction of some great new sports and will be available in two of Showtime’s programming packages including Sports and Variety and Platinum. Sportsnet World, will bring viewers the Rugby World Cup 2007 and 2011, the renowned Six Nations tournament, International Rugby Union and The Ryder Cup.
Sportsnet America will host all the key games from the NFL, MLB and NHL to NASCAR, NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football, among other events.
Showtime has also launched a premium package called Platinum. With Platinum, in addition to getting all channels, subscribers will also get unlimited access to all Home Cinema movies, a second subscription, a priority hotline and a members’ card which will offer additional, incremental and exclusive benefits. The Platinum package is available in all markets for new subscribers at Dh294 per month.
The Movies Premiere package, priced at Dh221, is targetted at those who want access to all Showtime channels including 15 movie channels that broadcast about 1,700 movies a month and several hit shows including Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, 24 and CSI. For those that want quality entertainment for their family, the entry level package at Dh74 provides channels that combine children’s programmes, general entertainment and sports.
“The new packages essentially provide more choice across the price and programming spectrum. People with families can choose the relevant channel mixes that they and their children will get the most out of. Around 72 per cent of subscribers already have a second television set in their house and they will probably enjoy having a second subscription and unlimited access to our Home Cinema movies so the Platinum package makes sense for them. The new packages offer more choice and more flexibility, whatever you are looking for,” says Vida Rizq, PR and Content Manager, Showtime Arabia.
“Programming apart, we feel that technology will play an increasingly important role in entertainment. In keeping with the trend, we launched Showbox early this year which is the region's first DVR service allowing subscribers to plan their viewing, record their favourite shows and pause and rewind live TV. With the seven-day EPG (the on-screen TV guide), this means you can schedule Showbox to record all your favourite shows and you are free to watch them in your own time — it really changes the way people perceive and watch TV,” says Rizq.
In addition to special promotions for the FIFA World Cup and new packaging, there are also new shows or seasons being launched across a number of channels. Dubai TV, one of the leading Arab family oriented entertainment channels, also has a new line-up of innovative programming including Nashwa, a talk show that seeks a more comprehensive perspective of issues and concerns of the viewers’ daily lives.
This programme was launched earlier this month. Sama Dubai, on the other hand, has a special Indian slot every Friday night that was also launched earlier this month. One TV has the second season of Smallville and interesting shows such as Tyra and Stripped on during May. Dubai TV, One TV, Sama Dubai and Dubai Sports are part of Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), one of the largest media organisations in the Arab world, based in the UAE.
