UAE telecom provider du on Wednesday moved to reassure customers amid concerns that its TV service users could miss out on live coverage of the FIFA World Cup.
With just over two weeks to go before the start of the football tournament in South Africa, the telco has still to finalise any deal to show live coverage of the world’s premier sporting event.
Earlier, Arabian Business reported that customers were becoming increasingly frustrated about how they would access action from the tournament.
In a statement sent to Arabian Business on Wednesday afternoon, du said: “We would like to reassure our valued customers that we are working with our partners to provide live action of the FIFA World Cup matches through dedicated packages. Further details will be communicated very soon.”
Broadcasting rights across the region are owned by Al Jazeera Sport, and can currently be accessed either by purchasing an Al Jazeera Sports card or through Etisalat’s pay TV E-Vision.
Both are charging existing customers around $100 to upgrade to the World Cup service.
The du statement added that the company was in the final stages of talks with content providers and would shortly announce packages for the World Cup.
Earlier this month, Grand Cinemas announced it had struck a deal with Al Jazeera, to show the tournament’s matches live on its cinema screens.
Andy Fordham, project manager at Grand Cinemas, told Arabian Business that the UAE-based cinema operator plans to sell around 4,800 tickets per match throughout the tournament.
Prices will start at AED35 ($9.52) and will increase as the tournament progresses, with tickets for the final priced at AED100 ($27.22).
