Football fans in the region – who use satellite TV to watch matches – have expressed their disappointment in having to fork out Dh1,000 to gain access to the English Premier League (EPL). That’s approximately Dh650 more than for cable TV users.

With the EPL scheduled to begin in less than a week (August 14), fans have been rushing to obtain their subscription for Abu Dhabi Sports, which is part of the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC). ADMC holds the MENA-region television and digital broadcast rights for the EPL for the 2010-2013 seasons, after taking over from the Orbit Showtime Network (OSN).

In the past MENA-region deal, new OSN subscribers obtained a free receiver and only had to pay a monthly subscription fee to obtain EPL. Now, users have to pay Dh999 for a high definition (HD) Humax receiver, plus access to games for a year.

And customers won’t be able to buy just a smart card as previously believed. Upon calling Abu Dhabi Sport’s sales call centre, it was confirmed that smart cards that could be used in customers’ existing receivers are not available, and that there are no plans to start producing them.

Tom Barker, a 35-year-old chef from Dubai told Emirates 24|7: “It’s ridiculous that I now have to buy another receiver if I want to watch the games.

“It’s no wonder that many of my friends are just going to try and access the games online for free.

"Although I’ve read that Abu Dhabi Sports is offering access to all games online for $100 (Dh367.50), there are not many who would be willing to pay for online access.

"I just don’t think premium online viewing is that popular in this region at the moment.”

Cable TV users, meanwhile, do not need a new receiver.

Du TV subscribers can access the channels for Dh31 per month as part of a 12-month contract, which brings the total to Dh372 per season.

Etisalat’s eLife and E-Vision customers get the best deal, as they will be offered Abu Dhabi Sports for free if they upgrade their existing single or eLife double play package to eLife triple play (internet, fixed-line and TV service), whilst all other eLife and E-Vision customers will be able to watch matches for Dh29 as part of a 12-month contract.

That’s Dh348 per season.

“This is so unfair,” said Mahmoud Hussein, 32, a banker from Dubai.

“Cable TV clients have got it easy. Why are we being forced to buy a new receiver?”

However, even those who have decided to go for the receiver have complained about the marketing of the product.

Abdullah Mesbah, a 28-year-old PR executive, told us: “My friends who use cable TV have received excellent communication from their providers on how to obtain Abu Dhabi Sports.

“For satellite users like me, it has been a joke. You can’t even order the receiver by phone – you have to go to a hypermarket or electronics store.

“And the receiver doesn’t seem to be sold anywhere. I’ve been to two of the shops mentioned on the website and couldn’t find it.”

Upon checking the official sales website www.3ways.admcsport.com, new users are advised to call or visit the retailers Carrefour, Geant, Hyper Panda, Lulu, Sharaf DG, Union Co Op, or Abu Dhabi Co Jumbo.

We called the sales centre and were told that indeed we couldn’t order the receiver over the phone.

We called Carrefour, Mall of the Emirates, who told us they didn’t know what we were talking about, whilst after attempting to explain what the receiver is three times to a customer service representative at Geant, we were told it was available.

Meanwhile, Sharaf DG did state that they have a Humax HD decoder cost Dh999 – although they didn’t know it was associated with Abu Dhabi Sports. However, it was only available in 5 of their 14 branches.

With Ramadan scheduled to begin on August 11 – hence shorter working hours for many in the UAE – here’s hoping this all gets sorted in time for the EPL.