Sport | Football

Al Jazeera says its World Cup kick-off broadcast sabotaged

Al Jazeera claims sabotage after technical problems in broadcast of World Cup opening game leave fans in UAE and Arab world fuming

  • By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief
  • Published: 10:11 June 12, 2010

World Cup at Barasti dome
  • Image Credit: Karen Dias/Gulf News
  • Football fans wait to watch the opening match between South Africa and Mexico as signals were lost at the Barasti dome, at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi in Dubai.
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Manama: Al Jazeera Sport said it is taking legal action against whoever blocked its Arab world exclusive coverage of the World Cup opening ceremony and first match between hosts South Africa and Mexico.

Football fans watching the ceremony and the match on Al Jazeera Sports were shocked by the frequent interruptions that marred their viewing, with the picture disappearing for long periods of time in the first half.

Al Jazeera Sports, under tremendous pressure to honour promises it made in the build-up to its first coverage of the most popular games in the world, urged viewers to move from the Egyptian Nilesat provider to the Arabsat to be able to watch the match.

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The call to switch satellites fuelled allegations throughout the Arab world that Egyptian hands could be behind the interruptions. However, Al Jazeera Sports refused to get dragged into the circle of accusations.

"We do not know yet who is behind the interference, but we will go after whoever has caused this terrible act that has deprived millions in the Arab world from watching the start of the World Cup," said Nasser Al Khalifi, the chairman of Al Jazeera Sports.

"We are shocked by what happened because the World Cup is not a political programme that someone wants to block. It is a global sports event and we had spent months negotiating with Fifa to enable viewers in the Arab world to enjoy some matches for free. Unfortunately, there are some people who have political motives, but we will go after them," he said.

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Al Jazeera Sport had earlier condemned the sabotage and said that it was beyond its control.

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"Al Jazeera Sport condemns the actions of those involved in the deliberate attempts to block its signal during its World Cup broadcasts on Friday," the station said.

"Despite its considerable efforts to bring the best coverage to the most possible fans across the Middle East and North Africa, including 18 free-to-air games from the group stages, Al Jazeera Sport viewers repeatedly lost their signal through the course of Friday's opening fixture," the pan-Arab channel said in a statement.

This loss of signal was completely beyond Al Jazeera Sport's control and its staff members share the frustrations of all those whose enjoyment was spoiled by what was a deliberate act of sabotage, said the station that is employing more than 350 people to cover all 64 matches of the World Cup.

 

Al Jazeera technicians said that whoever was behind the block "knew exactly what he was doing and that the interference was deliberate" while sports commentators from the channel said that they were shocked by the "immoral act" and would push for legal action against the perpetrators who wanted to spoil the global party.

"This is television piracy, but people should understand that they cannot stop Al Jazeera's media power. People can choose from any of the four providers broadcasting Al Jazeera Sports," Hichem Khalsi, a Doha-based lead commentator, told viewers.

Egyptian officials denied any involvement in the sabotage and said that it was looking into the matter.

"We have launched an investigation to find out how it happened. Egypt has no interest whatsoever in marring the reputation of the Arab world's best provider, the Nilesat," Mahmoud Juma, the head of Egypt's radio and television, said, quoted by Al Jazeera Net.

However, Mahmoud charged that Al Jazeera could well be behind the disruption.

"Al Jazeera might have decided to punish Nilesat 10 minutes after the first disruption by claiming that its causes were unknown and requesting its viewers to move to other providers, such as Arabsat, Hotbird and Noorsat," he said.

"That way, Al Jazeera is punishing Egyptian viewers and advertisers. Egyptians are not thieves or highwaymen and are gentlemen and professionals. We do not want to spoil the fun of Egyptian and Arab families watching the World Cup," he said.

Egypt are not playing in the World Cup finals after they lost in a dramatic decider against Algeria on November 18 in Sudan.

Al Jazeera Sports, established in November 2003, is considered the most popular sports channel in the Middle East and has covered a wide range of major sporting events, such as the UEFA European Football Championship, Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. It also has the exclusive broadcasting rights in the Middle East for major football leagues, like the Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A.

It has led a tough campaign to sell television rights to Arab countries interested in broadcasting the World Cup finals, but eventually said that it would beam 22 matches on its free-to-air channels.

Comments (23)

  1. Added 19:02 June 12, 2010

    It is absolutely pathetic broadcast. Our viewing has been ruined. Missed all the excitement. HD channel not up to any good and the only way to listen to English. We should get our money back!!! Dissapointed South African!!!

    Dissapointed South African!!!, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

  2. Added 18:21 June 12, 2010

    Not fit to cover any sporting event on television. People have spent lots of money to pay for these channels. Please return our money.

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  3. Added 18:21 June 12, 2010

    Day 2 - same issue. Shame on Al Jaz.... who failed to deliver the services promised. I hope that licenses to any other major sporting events are not granted to them.... Charging existing subscribers bcoz of world cup and failing to deliver..... Please employ qualified staff not jokers Refund please!!!

    Anonymous, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

  4. Added 18:09 June 12, 2010

    Same thing now during the game Argentina-Nigeria!! Doesn't look like we will be able to watch much of the WC this year!!! Get your act together Al Jazeera and sort this out for crying out loud!!! I would happily pay more money to a provider that is able to actually deliver what they promise...

    Anonymous, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

  5. Added 16:36 June 12, 2010

    I don't know if most of you were born after the 2006 World Cup, but just you know Arab Radio and Television or ART (who owned the rights for the MENA region then) charged $426 for the last World Cup. I was one of the many who couldn't afford it. ART won the rights for the 2010 (and 2014) World Cup as well, but Al-Jazeera Sports bought ART later last year for about $1bn. And I am very grateful to Al-Jazeera for charging only a fraction of the price ART charged. I also find it extremely ridiculous that you all would accuse Al-Jazeera of being greedy. This is the same channel that wanted to broadcast the Spanish football league Free-to-Air (FTA) when it first started but couldn't because the other channel(s) in the region (read ART) wouldn't let them. About the signal jamming, there is nothing Al-Jazeera could have done. They broadcast it on 3 satellites; it is the responsibility of the subscriber to have a backup plan. Al-Jazeera also does not require a whole year subscription as an anon user posted, you could buy just the World Cup channels for a month for $80. The one year mandatory subscription is your cable provider's fault. That is not to say, Al-Jazeera doesn't have problems. Their website is primarily in Arabic; how the countless non-Arab expatriates in the middle-east are to find any information, I do not know. Yesterday, they did ask through a ticker on the bottom of the screen to switch to other satellites. But it was in Arabic. Al-Jazeera are also broadcasting the World Cup online but information (in English) about how one could watch it was was hard to come by. The English site kept redirecting to the Arabic site. I later learned that another subscription was required for $60. I do however agree that the World Cup should be shown free of charge. But that is FIFA's problem. They are the ones who charge exorbitant prices for the TV rights -- ART paid $220mn for broadcasting rights for the 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions. You could also blame it on your state broadcasters, for not buying the rights from FIFA, ART last year or now Al-Jazeera, and broadcasting it FTA.

    Ali, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

  6. Added 16:36 June 12, 2010

    Please check al jazeerasport.net....the problem was in both nilesat, and arabsat,,,egyptian can never do such a thing,,,this not egyptians nature,,,and why you talk about egyptian while al jazeera itself didn't accuse anyone,,,,,please be professional

    a.k, dubai, Afghanistan

  7. Added 15:15 June 12, 2010

    Instead of having the minimum values of courtesy to apologise. They've decided to cover thier flaws and blame the satellite provider. Here's the joke, they did the same thing in the last arab league as well. However they may have had some commom sense at that time when the arab league was aired on most channels and the viewers were having the option of switching between channels to follow on the league and leave the AJS deserted behind. In this case the Egyptian provider knows very well that the world cup is monopolised by AJS and if they intentionally disrupted thier broadcast, not only will the channel get hurt, but all the viewers around the world including the egyptian fans and advertisers.

    Anonymous, AUH, United Arab Emirates

  8. Added 14:48 June 12, 2010

    I dont understand why people are whining so much; problems happen everywhere, just take it with a smile. Al Jazeera is still the best Arab sports channel, and it was not to blame for the problem As for the cost, it is funny people can spend thousands on cars and accomodation and eating out, but are complaining over a measly 370 Dirhams!

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  9. Added 14:34 June 12, 2010

    Al Jazeera claims that someone tried to block it's signal??? It's more like they were once again unprepared (just like 2 years ago with the Euros). They are very happy to take our money but come across very amateurish when it comes to organizing something like this event. Pure greed and lack of technical skill more like!!

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  10. Added 13:52 June 12, 2010

    It hard time for Al Jazeera channel to be unable for a clear transmision, blaming the others for his incapacity... Good Luke!

    Anonymous, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    11. View more comments

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