Sky News Arabia seals Premier League clip deal

Highlights of the English Premier League will be shown on the Middle East's latest 24 hour rolling news channel Sky News Arabia following a deal with Abu Dhabi Media, the league's regional TV rights holder."The Barclays Premier League is undoubtedly one of the top football leagues in the world and it has a huge following across the Arab world. I couldn't be more excited about bringing the league action to our viewers to be able to engage with Arab football fans through Sky News Arabia's multimedia platforms," said Ali El Garni, sports editor, Sky News Arabia. Sports news bulletins on Sky News Arabia will now include the closing stages of this year's top English football league, while highlights of next season's English Premier League will also be provided two hours after each match, with pre and post-match and half time footage available in real time. "The Abu Dhabi TV Network is proud to offer our viewers live and exclusive coverage of the entire Barclays Premier League season in world-class HDTV across our AD Sports channels. Our new partnership with Sky News Arabia will allow us to further extend the reach of the league to even more viewers across the Middle East with these new game highlights," said Mohammed Najeeb, head of Abu Dhabi Al Riyadiya Channels – Abu Dhabi Media's sports broadcasting department. Sky News Arabia, a 50:50 joint venture between Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC) and UK pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB, is now available across the Middle East and North Africa free to air via Arabsat Badr 4 and Nilesat 201, via the OSN pay-TV platform, and via IPTV in the UAE on Du TV and Etisalat eLife. Nart Bouran, Head of Sky News Arabia, added: "Sports – and football in particular – is huge in the Arab world, so it was crucial for Sky News Arabia to have a strong line-up. With the sports team in place, with the Barclays Premier League agreement and with the ability to broadcast on multiple platforms from day-one I can confidently say that we have an unparalleled offering that I'm sure our viewers will enjoy." Sky News Arabia will also provide extensive coverage of upcoming sporting events such as the UEFA Euro football tournament to be held in Poland and Ukraine from 8 June to 1 July 2012 and the London Olympics from 27 July to 12 August.