The games will be distributed live and delayed in English and in High Definition.
One World Sports is a unit of One Media Corp, Inc. One World Sports acquired the rights to broadcast the event through Singapore-based World Sport Group, the AFC’s exclusive marketing and media partner.
The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 is Asia’s premier football tournament and brings together the top 16 national teams from across that continent. It is held once every four years, and is the first major international competition pitting nation against nation since the FIFA World Cup 2010 last summer in South Africa.
Iraq, the defending champion, will be joined by Japan, China, Iran, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, a quintet that historically fields the strongest teams. The 2011 event will also include Australia, India and North Korea, in addition to Gulf Region teams from hosts Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
Qatari designer Ahmed Al Maadheed poses with the five-member family of mascots of the Qatar 2011 AFC Asian Cup at the launching ceremony in Doha Nov 11, 2010. According to the official website, The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 mascots are a family of Jerboas, a rodent found in the deserts of Qatar. The characters are named after different locations in the north, south, east and west of Qatar.“The response from the leading cable and satellite providers has been overwhelming,” said Preston Bornman, Chief Operating Officer of One World Sports. “They see the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 as a natural extension of the success they had with last summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa, which saw a dramatic rise in viewership.”
Matches can be purchased by consumers on a per-game basis via Pay-Per-View. One World Sports has licensed the full event to iN DEMAND (www.indemand.com), which will distribute the tournament to Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Mediacom and many other U.S. affiliates; DISH Network (www.DISHNetwork.com); and Avail/TVN (www.Avail-TVN.com), which includes AT&T and Verizon FiOS among its affiliates.
Broadband coverage will be available live via One World Sports Broadband, which can be found at www.OneWorldSports.tv. Mobile video coverage will be available on Verizon Wireless V CAST Video at www.VerizonWireless.com.
“Asia has become increasingly important to the United States economically and culturally. One of the best ways to gain insights on different parts of the world is through sport, and the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 comes at a time of heightened interest in the region,” Bornman said.
“World Sport Group is delighted to have One World Sports as our Broadcast Partner for North America and we are also very excited at the prospect of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 being seen in up to 65 million households there,” said James Clarke, Senior Vice President – Content, World Sport Group.
“There is huge interest in the event among the Asian communities in North America, particularly among Iranians, Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. For the first time, we have a nation-wide broadcast platform that can serve our North American fans,” Clarke said.
The 32 game tournament begins Jan. 7 and concludes on Jan. 29, 2011. There are 24 matches during the Group Stages, followed by four knock-out games between the four group winners and second-place finishers. Two semi-final matches will be held Jan. 25. The third-place match will be held on Jan. 28, followed by the final on Jan. 29. (ESPN)
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