ARABIC PACK,

The blocking of soccer matches on Al Iraqiya has already been discussed.

Al Iraqiya might believe they have the rights to air the matches into Australia but I bet Fox Sports or any other rights holder has a different view on that.

I can tell you that the following matches will be blocked on Al Iraqiya as they don't have the broadcasting rights to air them into Australia.

07 Jun - China v Qatar & Iraq v Australia
14 Jun - China v Iraq & Qatar v Australia
22 Jun - Iraq v Qatar & Australia v China

Why would UBI upset customers on purpose?

Al Iraqiya isn't the only channel that UBI blocks soccer matches, UBI block a lot soccer matches on the Turkish channels, ATV is one that springs to mind.

Another similar situation occurs with RTP International. They have rights to air matches in Asia Pacific on C-Band but are not allowed to broadcast them into Australia on the KU-Band UBI channel as someone else has brought the rights here.

UBI World TV would love to air all the matches but UBI's hands are tied when it comes to sporting rights. This is not new and has been occurring pre UBI and the same happened often on the TARBS platform.

UBI doesn't negotiate broadcasting rights for matches, UBI buys the rights to the particular channel and air it according to the broadcasting laws in Australia. This is why UBI worked hard to get Setanta Sports onboard as it gives UBI customers the option of paying extra for certain matches that are often blocked as Setanta Sports own the rights to them. Hopefully one day UBI will have more sports channel to cater for the demand and love that Australia has for sport.

Broadcasting rights is also the reason why Setanta Sports can not be broadcasted in New Zealand as Sky own the rights to certain sports that are shown on Setanta Sports.

Please PM me the name and contact details of the Al Iraqiya representative so I can forward it to Management who can advise them of the situation in Australia.