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The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has cancelled BeIN Sports' rights to broadcast its soccer competitions in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has announced.
The SAFF says that it received a letter from the confederation confirming the end to the pay-TV broadcaster’s rights contract amid allegations that the Qatar-based media company committed 'grave violations of the laws and regulations'. The annulled deal was described by the national body as providing BeIN a 'monopoly' on Asian soccer.
Though the announcement does not go into more detail, it does cite an 'inability to obtain the required licenses' as a factor in coming to its decision, while the SAFF has also appealed to all international soccer federations to 'take similar measures'.
In response, BeIN has said it is set to launch an immediate legal challenge against the AFC.
The development comes amid BeIN’s ongoing battle against piracy in Saudi Arabia, where pirate broadcaster BeoutQ has been stealing BeIN content for more than a year.
BeoutQ, which is now the subject of a US$1 billion international investment arbitration brought against Saudi Arabia last October, was also alleged to have stolen BeIN rights to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between January and February.
At the time, the AFC condemned BeoutQ’s actions as a “clear and flagrant breach of our intellectual property rights”. It has now decided to “gradually” transition its tournament rights onto its own platforms, starting with Tuesday’s Saudi Pro League match between Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal and Qatar’s Al-Duhail soccer teams.
The Saudi soccer body said in a statement: ‘The SAFF has received a letter from the AFC informing it that the latter has cancelled the “BeIN Sport” channel’s monopoly on Asian continent matches and competitions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This step came after AFC’s review of the letters and legal reasons.
‘These included the illegality of BeIN Sport to transmit in the Kingdom due to the grave violations of the laws and regulations BeIN Sport has committed, in addition to its inability to obtain the required licenses necessary for it to fulfil its commitments in transmitting AFC’s competitions to the viewers and followers in the Kingdom.’
Last month, BeIN made a further stand against piracy in the region by announcing a decision not to renew its five-year rights deal with Formula One in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). A week later, BeIN then joined forces with an alliance of US sports bodies, trade associations, and international broadcasters to call on the US Government to intervene by placing Saudi Arabia on the Priority Watch List.
As it stands, SportsPro understands BeIN’s request is still under consideration.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has cancelled BeIN Sports' rights to broadcast its soccer competitions in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has announced.
The SAFF says that it received a letter from the confederation confirming the end to the pay-TV broadcaster’s rights contract amid allegations that the Qatar-based media company committed 'grave violations of the laws and regulations'. The annulled deal was described by the national body as providing BeIN a 'monopoly' on Asian soccer.
Though the announcement does not go into more detail, it does cite an 'inability to obtain the required licenses' as a factor in coming to its decision, while the SAFF has also appealed to all international soccer federations to 'take similar measures'. BeIN has yet to respond to the allegations.
The development comes amid BeIN’s ongoing battle against piracy in Saudi Arabia, where pirate broadcaster BeoutQ has been stealing BeIN content for more than a year.
BeoutQ, which is now the subject of a US$1 billion international investment arbitration brought against Saudi Arabia last October, was also alleged to have stolen BeIN rights to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between January and February.
At the time, the AFC condemned BeoutQ’s actions as a “clear and flagrant breach of our intellectual property rights”. It has now decided to “gradually” transition its tournament rights onto its own platforms, starting with Tuesday’s Saudi Pro League match between Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal and Qatar’s Al-Duhail soccer teams.
The Saudi soccer body said in a statement: ‘The SAFF has received a letter from the AFC informing it that the latter has cancelled the “BeIN Sport” channel’s monopoly on Asian continent matches and competitions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This step came after AFC’s review of the letters and legal reasons.
‘These included the illegality of BeIN Sport to transmit in the Kingdom due to the grave violations of the laws and regulations BeIN Sport has committed, in addition to its inability to obtain the required licenses necessary for it to fulfil its commitments in transmitting AFC’s competitions to the viewers and followers in the Kingdom.’
Last month, BeIN made a further stand against piracy in the region by announcing a decision not to renew its five-year rights deal with Formula One in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). A week later, BeIN then joined forces with an alliance of US sports bodies, trade associations, and international broadcasters to call on the US Government to intervene by placing Saudi Arabia on the Priority Watch List.
As it stands, SportsPro understands BeIN’s request is still under consideration.
