Al Jazeera joins forces with UEFA

UEFA has awarded the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup broadcast media rights for 2009-12 in the Middle East and North Africa to Al Jazeera.

Competitive process
"Substantial offers from several of the major media groups and broadcasters in the region were received, providing further evidence of the increasing strength of both competitions," said UEFA on Monday. "An extremely competitive sales process produced a very significant increase in the rights fee for the UEFA Champions League and set a new benchmark for the UEFA Cup. Despite intense competition among bidders, Al Jazeera's offer set them apart as the clear winner of both sets of rights at the conclusion of the first round of bidding."

Extensive coverage
Al Jazeera is committed to providing extensive coverage on its pay TV channels which will deliver UEFA's club competitions to a wide audience throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, Al Jazeera will sub-licence live matches to a number of free-to-air broadcasters across the region. The platform neutral approach means that Al Jazeera has also been granted internet and mobile exploitation for all games. The UEFA Champions League media rights for 2009-12 will also include the 2009, 2010 and 2011 UEFA Super Cups.

Increasing popularity
"The substantial increase in the rights fees demonstrates the continuing global attraction of UEFA's club competitions," said UEFA's marketing director, Philippe Le Floc'h. "UEFA is delighted to have the opportunity to build upon its existing relationship with Al Jazeera, which is already UEFA’s broadcast partner for UEFA EURO 2008™ and the UEFA Cup.

Valued partner
"At the same time, UEFA wishes to thank ART, who we regret will no longer be UEFA's Champions League broadcast partner in the region after season 2008/9," he added. "They have been a valued partner for many seasons and have done an excellent job of broadcasting the UEFA Champions League."