15-06-2010, 04:35 AM
Forgot to post this the other day.
Quote:Al-Jazeera says its World Cup kick-off sabotaged
(AFP)
DOHA — Al-Jazeera television's sports coverage was hit by outages during the opening match of the football World Cup by what the company claims was sabotage.
Al-Jazeera Sport, which has exclusive transmission rights of the event in the Arab world, was deliberately jammed on the Nilesat and Arabsat satellites, said a statement issued late on Friday.
The channel aims to identify and pursue those responsible for this "act of piracy," managing director Nasser bin Ghanem al-Kholeifi said, while also apologising to the fans.
For its part, the Egyptian Satellite Company (Nilesat) said it was investigating the source of the jamming.
"Coordination has been made between Nilesat and a specialised international company to identify the source of the jamming," the company said in a statement carried by the official Egyptian MENA news agency.
Nilesat said it would "take all measures necessary against such an irresponsible act that violates all international laws and norms."
Dubai daily Emarat Al-Yom ran a headline on Saturday saying "Al-Jazeera Sport spoils the World Cup's joy."
In the Saudi capital, Riyadh, football fans unleashed a fury of invective against Al-Jazeera after outages caused them to miss much of the first half of the South Africa-Mexico game on Friday.
Fans watching in a coffeeshop moaned as the broadcast went on and off constantly, and other fans turned to Twitter to express their ire.
"World Cup Fever is getting ruined by AL-JAZEERA's technical problem!" Twitter user "mjeddy" protested.
"I'd like to thank Jazeera for ruining my first World Cup game! No signal and no customer support. Just brilliant," said another who calls himself Nasserak.
Others questioned the proposed bid by Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, to host the World Cup in 2022.
The signal returned for most of the second half of the opening game, but was patchy.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.