beIN SPORTS, the flagship channel of the beIN MEDIA GROUP, renewed the rights to broadcast the Bundesliga in all 24 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in a three-year deal.
Concerns over piracy
This agreement ends a two-year period when beIN had not renewed the rights agreement over piracy concerns, and the ban by Saudi Arabia prohibiting beIN Media from distributing programming in the Kingdom; which arose from the notorious beoutQ case, which was backed by Saudi Arabia.
The ending of the Kingdom’s blockade against Qatar, where beIN Media is headquartered, and the ending of beoutQ, opened the door to reinstate the distribution agreement.
According to SportsPro, beIN Media had maintained rights with the DFL outside of MENA, including France, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.
About the agreement
beIN SPORTS now has exclusive rights to all 306 Bundesliga fixtures, as well as the end-of-season relegation play-offs, the German Supercup, and Bundesliga 2 as the league returns to the leading media group in MENA. The deal includes full clip and highlights rights across beIN SPORTS’ digital and social media channels and beinsports.com.
Further reading
beIN Sports Renews Exclusive Rights to the Bundesliga across Middle East & North Africa in a Three-Year Deal (beIN Sports)
Bundesliga and beIN Sports end MENA impasse wiht new three-year rights deal (SportsPro)
Why it matters
One might think that the original rights-owner would be the party to raise exclusivity concerns for a distribution agreement, since it would want to guarantee that only one distributor was granted exclusive rights. Â Â This case highlights the equal concern that sufficient precautions are taken by the rights-owner/supplier (The German Football League) to help the distributor (beIN Sports) justify the premium price of exclusive distribution.
But this particular case was unusual in that beIN Media had to comply with a ban by a neighboring country, elevating the situation to a geopolitical level.
