Here in the States, we’ve gotten accustomed to watching the English Premier League on Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports. For those readers in the UK, it’ll be Sky Sports and Setanta starting in August. Elsewhere in the world, ESPN provides many football fans in Asia and Australasia with their Premier League content.

But in the Middle East and North Africa, there’s an unlikely network that holds the TV rights for the next three seasons: SHOWTIME. Yes, the movie network that plays those racy videos in the middle of the night and used to be big when The Movie Channel (TMC) was popular.

When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Showtime Arabia (sorry I refuse to continually type their name in all-caps even though that’s the way their name is marketed) is offering different packages complete with movies and sports.

Imagine if Showtime or HBO in the States decided to create sports networks!