Dubai: Etisalat, one of two state-owned telecommunications providers in the UAE, is now offering its Fifa World Cup 2018 package to customers, for a standalone price of Dh555, excluding VAT.
The package is available from channel 777. A source at the company confirmed that Etisalat had completed negotiations with BeIN to show the tournament, which begins in Russia in two weeks, to its customers in the UAE.
"All BeIN services are working as normal, there's no interruption in services," they told Gulf News.
This comes a day after BeIN Sports, the Qatari-owned broadcaster, pulled its channels off-air on Du's services, according to the company.
This is not the first time the network has been unavailable: Last summer, due to the Qatar crisis, BeIN Sports, which is owned by Al Jazeera Media Network, was blocked in multiple Gulf countries.
“We are temporarily unable to show beIN sports channels and packages due to a decision by the broadcaster beIN Sports,” said Du on Saturday in a statement to its customers.
Du and Etisalat both broadcast BeIN in the UAE.
In May, Etisalat told customers that they were “in the final stage of negotiations with beIN to secure the rights" to show the World Cup in the UAE.
Meanwhile, Du has yet to announce a package, with BeIN currently not showing on the network.
