Al Kass Sports Channels is a group of eightsports channels that are broadcast 24/7 from Qatar. Its official name is Al Dawri wal Kass, 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 are encrypted with beIN Channels NetworkQatari 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. 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 - 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.
Rhodri Williams : Former Sky Sports News anchorman. Currently hosts the English-speaking segment QSL Review.
Younis Mahmoud : Former Iraq national team captain and their most-capped player ever. Won the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or. Now appears as an analyst on Al Majlis.
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.
Awards
The channel won the best Persian GulfSports Channel award in 2007. Khalid Jassim, the host of the Majlis programme won the best host award. The channel also won two awards at the Promax BDA awards held at New York in June 2008.
