Saudi anti-piracy pledge questioned after beIN ban
Saudi Arabia has revoked exclusive Premier League licensee beIN Media’s broadcasting permissions, leaving viewers in the Kingdom with no legal means of watching several global sports competitions.
In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s competition regulator said that beIN had engaged in “monopolistic practices” and abused its position in the market through the bundling of sports broadcasts.
BeIN had been temporarily unable to broadcast in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of a diplomatic crisis with Qatar in 2017.
The latest decision from the Saudi General Authority for Competition (GAC) means BeIN’s broadcasting licence has been cancelled permanently, alongside the issuing of a $2.6 million fine.
BeIN called the decision “absurd” and “nonsensical on every single level”, adding: “We would question—as we have for three years—how Saudi citizens can watch Premier League matches legally in Saudi Arabia with this ‘permanent’ ban on the Premier League’s licensed broadcaster.”
The GAC’s decision comes as a Saudi state-funded consortium looks to complete a takeover of Premier League club Newcastle United, further complicating a deal already beset with concerns over IP infringement.
Saudi Arabia has faced criticism from international rights owners, including the Premier League, over its failure to tackle pirate broadcaster beoutQ, believed to be based in the country.
Last month, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled that Saudi Arabia had violated its obligations under the TRIPS Agreement by failing to crack down on beoutQ.
Saudi Arabia has since defended its IP system in the wake of the WTO report, and pledged to “continue” its anti-piracy efforts.
The Kingdom justified its refusal to act on beIN’s complaints over beoutQ with reference to national security concerns, stemming from the diplomatic crisis with Qatar.
But this argument was “so remote from” the issue of beoutQ that it did not "meet a minimum requirement of plausibility”, a WTO panel concluded.
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