Al Jazeera Sport is expected to bid for the UK rights to broadcast live English Premier League football. "We're expecting another Premier League auction in April or May. An Al Jazeera bid is a realistic option," said Ross Hair, managing director of ESPN UK. Hair added that Al Jazeera "have done something very interesting in France in buying first division football against the incumbent satellite broadcaster Canal Plus and we've also looked at what they've done in other markets."

RapidTVNews reports that Goal.com claims that Al Jazeera Sports is to bid for the rights to broadcast the English Premier League in both the MENA region and on a pay per view basis in the UK, when overseas bidding for the 2013-14 season begins.

Emirates 24|7 reports that football fans in the MENA region have expressed their disappointment in having to pay an equivelant of Dh 1,000 to gain access to the English Premier League (EPL). In the past MENA region deal, new OSN subscribers obtained a free receiver and only had to pay a smaller added monthly subscription fee on top of the baic OSN package to obtain the EPL. Now, users have to Dh 1,000 or more for a high definition (HD) Humax receiver, plus access to the matches for a year.

Rapid TV News reports that Qtel will be offering the 2010/11 season of the English Premier League (EPL) on Qatar’s Mozaic TV for a price of QR35, the only service in Qatar providing coverage of the EPL. The package will include access to live coverage of all 380 games, along with 24/7 programming featuring previews, reviews and analysis from 14 August 2010.

The National reports that Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) has announced two television broadcasting deals with Endemol Sport and IMG Sports Media to launch English Premier League channels in the region. Endemol Sport, which owns the screening rights for next season’s EPL, will launch four EPL channels. IMG Sports Media will provide live coverage, including pitch-side reports and pre- and post-game interviews and reports.

Rapid TV News reports that the English Premier League soccer matches are to be offered online from the start of this autumn’s season. According to Edward Borgerding, chief executive of ADMC, viewers will have a choice between two methods of viewing the games over broadband – either web television or internet protocol television (IPTV).

Showtime Arabia is mounting a major effort to win new subscribers in the Middle East, using English Premiership soccer.