Al Kass Sports Channels

Al Kass Sports Channels
Al-Kass logo
Launched 6 June 2006 (one channel only)
Owned by Government of Qatar
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
(HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTV sets)
Country Qatar
Language Arabic
Headquarters Doha, Qatar
Website www.alkass.net
Availability
Satellite
beIN (MENA)
  • Channels 31–33 (Al Kass 1–3, HD)
  • Channels 35–38 (Al Kass 5–8, HD)
Cable
Mozaic TV (Qatar) Channels 635–637 (Al Kass 1–3, HD)

Al Kass Sports Channels is a group of eight sports channels that are broadcast 24/7 from Qatar. Its official name is Al Dawri wal Kass (Arabic:قناة الدوري والكأس), which means The League and the Cup in Arabic, since it was initially launched to broadcast domestic football in Qatar. The eight channels of Al-Kass are numbered from one to eight. Starting from 2013, four of its eight channels (Al-Kass 3/6/7/8) are encrypted with beIN Channels Network Qatari pay-tv network and these encrypted channels are specified to broadcasting matches of AFC Champions League and AFC Cup.

History

Al-Kass was launched in June 2006 as the second sports channel from Qatar after Al Jazeera Sports.[1] In its first year, the channel won many viewers with its unmatched coverage of domestic sports, especially football. It also broadcast the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha. It now also covers matches involving the Persian Gulf countries, notably FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, the AFC Asian Cup and the Arabian Gulf Cup. It has emerged as one of the most popular sport channels in Arabia. Al-Kass has now eight sports channel, four of them are FTA and the other four channels are encrypted with the Qatari pay-tv beIN Channels Network.

Programmes

Here is a list of some notable programmes broadcast on Al-Kass.

  • Al Majlis (المجلس) - Flagship talk show involving former national players and coaches; previews every match involving Qatar and Qatari clubs. Hosted by Khalid Jassim.
  • Race N Wheels - Weekly motorsports show. Hosted by Marianne Caracalla.
  • Fadh Fadh - Fans interaction show where the channel's reporters mingle among the crowd during matches. Hosted by Jamal Hosni.
  • Al Kuratul Aalamiyah - Weekly show on world football with guests like Ronald de Boer, Ali Benarbia and Sabri Lamouchi.
  • Jarayed (جرايد) - Newspaper review show, covering local regional and international newspapers. Hosted by Huda Mohammed.

Notable figures

Events

Besides broadcasting, the channel has held certain sporting events in its history. A notable event is the Al Kass International Cup. It is an under-17 tournament in which the best teams in the world send their youth teams to Qatar to participate in the tournament. Both, Qatar's Aspire International, and Aspire Qatar participated. The main purpose of the tournament is to help develop youth systems worldwide. There are cash prizes for the winners.[3]

Awards

The channel won the best Persian Gulf Sports Channel award in 2007. Khalid Jassim, the host of the Majlis (The Council) programme won the best host award. The channel also won two awards at the Promax BDA awards held at New York in June 2008.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Al Dawri & Al Kass Sport Channel, BID award winner, organizes an International under-17 Soccer Tournament". BID Group. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Al Kass to cover the Qatar Stars League in English". marhaba.com. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Al Kass International Cup from Jan 8 Archived 2012-01-10 at the Wayback Machine. Doha Stadium Plus. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  4. ↑ AMEInfo Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
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