Qatar’s BeIN Extends English Premier League Contract

BeIN have the current contract in the region for broadcasting English Premier League games. The new season starts on Friday.

It will show 380 live games from England per season.

“BeIN is a long-term partner of the League and its first-rate coverage has helped to grow interest in our clubs across many countries,” said Richard Scudamore, executive chairman of the Premier League.

“We look forward to continuing to work with them.”

The latest agreement comes at a time when beIN is battling pirate broadcasters in the Middle East over illegal transmissions of its exclusive football coverage.

BeIN claims that since last October a pirate channel known as “beoutQ” — using a signal from Riyadh-based satellite provider Arabsat — has been illegally transmitting its broadcasts.

The issue came to a head during the recent World Cup after beIN said its exclusive rights to show tournament matches were illegally broadcast by beoutQ.

FIFA said in July that it was preparing to take legal action in Saudi Arabia against pirate broadcasters.

Saudi Arabia said recently it had confiscated more than 12,000 pirating devices across the country.

The piracy issue has surfaced at a politically sensitive time in the Gulf, with Qatar boycotted by its neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, in a highly fractious 14-month long diplomatic and economic dispute.

Qatar has been isolated since June 2017, accused by Saudi Arabia and its allies of supporting terrorism and being too close to Riyadh’s archrival, Iran — charges Doha denies.

Source: AFP