APL

Historic Football Match Draws Record Breaking 12 million Plus Viewers On Afghanistan’s Leading TV Channels

Kabul, August 29^th, 2013 – According to a survey conducted by ATR Consulting, the Friendship Match played in Kabul between the national football teams of Afghanistan and Pakistan on August 20^thcontinues to demonstrate MOBY GROUP’s dominance of Afghanistan’s airwaves through TOLO TV and Lemar TV.  With a record-breaking audience of 12.16 million viewers, the Friendship Match broadcast stands as the single most watched telecast in the nation’s history. Pakistan’s PTV, the country’s largest media operation, also televised the historic encounter on their sports channel to great acclaim. This milestone clearly illustrates Afghanistan’s overwhelming passion for football in advance of the second season of the Roshan Afghan Premier League(RAPL),which kicked-off just two days later.

The survey was conducted by telephone with respondents from 31 of Afghanistan’s provinces. Overall, results of the survey indicated that 65% of the population possessing a telephone watched the match. Other key findings from the survey include:

• The poll indicated high interest amongboth men and women, with 69% and 61% respectively tuning in.

• Afghanistan’s youth showed great interest in the match with 68% of the respondents below 30 having watched the broadcast on TOLO TV or Lemar TV, followed closely by 66% of respondents above the age of 30.

The Friendship Match was simulcast on TOLO TV, Afghanistan’s leading general entertainment Farsi-language channel;Lemar TV, Afghanistan’s foremost Pashto-language general entertainment channel; Arman FM, the country’s number one youth radio station, Arakozia FM, the nation’s principle talk radio station; and PTV, one of Pakistan’s oldest and farthest reaching media organizations.

The online broadcast also broke new records.The stream hosted on the RAPL’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/AfghanPremierLeague) was watched live by thousands of fans, while more than 20,000 have viewed the replay of the match on the same platform to date.

The historic Friendship Match was organized through the cooperative efforts of the Afghan Football Federation (AFF) and the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), with MOBY GROUP serving as the production and broadcast partner.Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading telecommunications provider, was the presenting sponsor of the Friendship Match. FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) sanctioned the friendly and provided international referees as well as the match commissioner.

Zaid Mohseni, CEO of MOBY GROUP Afghanistan, owner of TOLO TV, LemarTV, Arman FM and Arakozia FMremarked, “We did not expect such engagement from Afghan television viewers.We are strong believers that sport breaks down barriers and unites people, and we are delighted that television was the vectorof communication that brought the country together. We look forward to breaking new audience records and to continue using TV entertainment as the best communication medium to share a common passion.”

Shafic Gawhari, Commissioner of the Roshan Afghan Premier League added,“The RAPL worked hand-in-hand with the AFF, PFF, and MOBYto make this match possible. The national and international success of the match would not have been possible without using the best TV and radio broadcasters in the country. This achievement also shows the great leaps made by the Afghan national team in football, following their incredible jump in FIFA’s rankings from 186^that the end of 2012 to139^th as of August of this year. We are also proud that the majority of the players representing Afghanistan at the final whistle were from the RAPL.”

About MOBY GROUP
MOBY GROUP owns and operates 13 businesses across South Central Asia and the Middle East. The companyoperates the top 3 TV channels in Afghanistan, consistently drawing 15M+ viewers across their most popular shows, as well as Kaboora Production - an award-winning TV production company noted for its Sundance Film Festival and Seoul Drama Festival award winning content; as well as Emmy-nominated shows. News Corporation is a shareholder in Moby Group. www.mobygroup.com
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact [email protected]or call Sekander Saleh on +93 798 136 980.

About the Roshan Afghan Premier League (RAPL)
The second season ofAfghanistan’s first and only professional football league commenced on August 22^nd.  The eight teams comprising the RAPL; Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Badakhshan, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Khost, and Panshjir, will play a series of 18 matches which will culminate in a final championship match on October 11^th.  All matches will take place in Kabul’s newly renovated AFF Stadium.  The league is fully supported by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation. All playing rules and regulations are in accordance with those set forth by FIFA and the AFC. All RAPL matches are broadcast LIVE on TOLO TV andLemar TV, as well as on radio stations Arman FM and Arakozia FM.  The matches are also available via cable TV, and online. Follow the competition on www.AfghanPremierLeague.com.

About the Afghan Football Federation (AFF)
The AFF is the controlling body for the sport in the country and was admitted to FIFA in 1948. The AFF is a non-governmental, non-profit association which began supporting football activities for Afghanistan in 1922. The Federation continues to organize all types of football (Soccer, Futsal, Beach Soccer, Mini Soccer, Street Soccer, etc.) within Afghanistan through various tournaments, leagues, championships, and clinics.

About the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)
The PFF governs all football clubs in Pakistan. It is a member of the AFC and FIFA. All of Pakistan's football clubs must be members of the PFF. The PFF is responsible for the appointment of the management of the Pakistan men's and women's national teams and the organization of the Pakistan Premier League (the top division), and other lower divisions. The game is controlled at the local level by 8 provincial football federations affiliated withthe PFF that are responsible for organizing and running football activities in their areas.

Download the PDF of the press release here: