Showtime's Football Wow Time

The new English Premier League season is upon us and Showtime, the Middle East's exclusive broadcasters of the most-watched football league in the world are as prepared as Manchester United, Chelsea and company to get the show on the road.

The channel that nine months ago laid claim to the television rights to the EPL for the next three years, has been busy doing its homework during that time in order to ensure their viewers access to top quality coverage.

And while their preparations have given new meaning to the phrase, ‘leave no stone unturned' Showtime President and CEO Marc-Antoine d'Halluin says his team is now ready to add a new dimension to sports broadcasting.

"What we have here is a level of production, values, quality that will be unmatched in the region," said d'Halluin prior to taking the media on a guided tour of Showtime's English and Arabic Studios in Dubai Media City.

"These studios are equipped with the latest technology to show analysis of what took place on the pitch and replays in a very graphically friendly way where we actually explain what's taking place."

Aside from roping in veteran UK Sky Sports presenter Rob McCaffrey and former Celtic player Derek Whyte, Showtime have other surprises lined up for viewers over the course of the season.

"We will put tremendous focus on attracting the best possible guests — that's a big difference with whatever was done before. Guys like Alan Shearer, pretty big names you know, when they come in they make an impact," said d'Halluin.

"The quality we have will be on par with Sky Sports. The only difference is that we can broadcast 10 matches and they can only broadcast three simultaneously," he added with a smile.

Showtime Head of Sport Andy Warkman has no doubt that their overall package is sure to keep sports buffs glued to their screens.

"You buy the rights but it's what you do with them afterwards that makes the difference," said Warkman, adding that close attention will also be paid to getting the community more involved.

"We have teamed up with Umbro to do our ‘Umbro Team of the month'. Local teams will write in to us saying why they think they should be the team of the month and we'll choose a winner every month — it could be from Saudi [Arabia], Egypt or anywhere — and then Umbro will kit them with shorts, socks, shirts, balls, bags, everything they need, so it will be a really nice thing to do to get the locals involved. That's how we are starting and we hope to build it up."

With September's Rugby Union World Cup and a host of other major events already in the bag, Showtime are clearly making their ambitions known. "We see this as just the beginning," said Warkman before signing off.

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