Pay-television broadcaster Abu Dhabi Media has blamed an “extremely unrealistic” price demand for its failure to extend its broadcast rights deal for English Premier League football, according to the Sport 360 newspaper.
Rival pay-television broadcaster Al Jazeera this week acquired the exclusive Premier League rights in the Middle East and North Africa in a three-year deal with the MP & Silva agency.
Al Jazeera’s Premier League deal covers exclusive rights for all 380 Premier League matches per season in the 2013-14 to 2015-16 seasons. MP & Silva acquired the rights from the Premier League in January.
ADM, the Premier League rights-holder in MENA for the last cycle, 2010-11 to 2012-13, was strongly interested in acquiring the rights from MP & Silva. They were a high priority for ADM because it is owned by the Abu Dhabi state, which also owns Premier League club Manchester City.
However, ADM said a new deal made no financial sense for the company, hinting that Al Jazeera overpaid for the rights.
“Abu Dhabi Media (ADM) decided not to continue negotiations to acquire the English Premier League broadcasting regional rights due to the commercial infeasibility of the deal,” the company said in a statement. “Out of its commitment to its viewers and to build on its previous investment in these rights, ADM participated in the Premier League’s invitation to tender with a financial offer that exceeded the actual market value of the product.”
The statement continued: “However, after an unprecedented delay in announcing the outcome of the bidding process, the rights were given to a sports rights agency (MP & Silva). This agency demanded an extremely unrealistic price that was many times the proven actual market value of the product. ADM accordingly decided there was no commercial sense in investing in the EPL rights and not to enter into such an unviable commercial deal that would hinder the natural development of the market.”