Qatar-based beIN Sports on Friday said that it had decided not to renew a contract for the rights to broadcast Formula One in the Middle East and North Africa as a consequence of piracy in the region.
The previous five-year deal expired at the end of last season. This year’s 21-race world championship starts in Australia on March 17.
BeIN Sports, which also has the local rights to the English Premier League and other major soccer leagues and tournaments, has urged sports bodies to take legal action in Saudi Arabia against illegal broadcasts.
In 2017, a TV service called BeoutQ emerged after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar, accusing the tiny Persian Gulf state of supporting terrorism, which Doha has denied.
BeoutQ is widely available in Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh has said that it is not based there and that authorities are committed to fighting piracy.
It is unclear who owns or operates the service.
“A rights holder’s stance on beoutQ’s piracy — in other words, whether they’re taking legal action, making a public stand and doing everything within their power to combat the industrial-scale theft of their rights — is a critical factor that we’re now considering when bidding,” beIN Middle East and North Africa managing director Tom Keaveny said in a statement.
Keaveny said that beIN, a pay-TV broadcaster, paid huge sums for media rights and had warned for nearly two years of the commercial impact of piracy.
BeIN would pay less for rights that cannot be protected, he said.
Formula One, which holds lucrative races in Saudi Arabian regional allies Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, declined to comment on the suggestion that it had not done enough to combat beoutQ.
The sport, owned since 2017 by US-based Liberty Media, in June last year said that it was investigating alleged illegal broadcasts of its content in the Middle East and North Africa.
“Formula One takes intellectual property infringement of this nature extremely seriously; we are looking into the issue and those that are involved, and will take appropriate action,” it said at the time.
A Formula One insider said that the beIN contract was originally a sublicense agreement with MP & Silva, a sports marketing and media rights company that went into administration late last year.
The overall contribution, in percentage terms, to Formula One’s annual broadcast revenues of the beIN deal was put in the mid-single digits and a replacement broadcast deal was reportedly close to being finalized.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
‘HELLA ENERGY’: Minnesota’s 42-point victory set a club record for points in a playoff game, but the team have to keep up their momentum to stay in the series, Edwards said Anthony Edwards on Saturday night scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 to tighten their NBA playoff series. Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists. while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the hosts Timberwolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. However, moments after the 42-point win, Minnesota were determined to forget all about it. Such is life in the NBA playoffs. “You’ve got to erase this one,” Edwards said. “This one is over. I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS