A Saudi government-owned satellite firm is linked to the illegal screening of Premier League football matches across the Middle East and north Africa, the Premier League has claimed, saying it had compelling evidence of the year-long piracy operation.
There have been suggestions that Arabsat’s piracy operation is part of a wider political dispute between Saudi Arabia and its regional political rival Qatar.
The Qatari beIN Media Group bought the expensive right to broadcast Premier League matches across the Middle East and north Africa two years ago but has been complaining for nearly a year that it has become the victim of a massive Saudi-based piracy operation.
The Premier League said in a statement issued on Tuesday that it had appointed legal counsel in Saudi Arabia to prevent the theft of its intellectual property rights, threatened to bring legal action, and said it had complained to the European commission.
Qatar has been battling for months to persuade the football authorities, including Fifa and Uefa, that an illegal pirate channel called “beoutQ” is being hosted in Riyadh by Arabsat in which the Saudi government is the largest shareholder.
Arabsat has always denied it is involved in one of the most sophisticated piracy operations ever seen, or has given tacit consent for the theft.
But Saudi Arabia has been mounting an economic boycott of Qatar since June 2017 using a variety of techniques to isolate and weaken the state’s economy in a bitter dispute over Qatar’s independent-minded foreign policy.
Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, claims Qatar has been funding terrorism.
In a major breakthrough in Qatar’s battle to protect its rights, the Premier League said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the illegal broadcast piracy of its matches currently taking place in Saudi Arabia and available in multiple territories throughout the Middle East by an illegal pirate channel called ‘beoutQ’.
“All 20 Premier League matches played during the first two weekends of the season were broadcast illegally on the channel.”
The Premier League added that it has “has seen compelling evidence demonstrating ‘beoutQ’ is a highly sophisticated pirate operation which has used the services of satellite provider Arabsat to distribute the illegal content”.
It added “the Premier League recently extended the beIN Media Group agreement to exclusively broadcast Premier League football matches across the Middle East for the three seasons through to 2021/22.
The Premier League takes piracy in all its forms extremely seriously and is committed to working with its broadcast partners and regulatory authorities in territories all around the world to stop the non-authorised exploitation of its content.
“As such, the Premier League has appointed legal counsel in Saudi Arabia to begin the process of bringing legal action against the parties involved in this piracy. Given the strong copyright framework in Saudi Arabia, the Premier League is confident that the Saudi Arabian authorities will ultimately uphold its clear rights when the action is commenced.”
A Premier League spokesperson added: “The Premier League has written to the European commission as part of the Sports Rights Owners Coalition.”
The French football league has also written to the European commission to complain.
Private sector investors judging whether to invest in the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s elaborate plans to modernise his country will be watching to see if he is willing to put established international law on intellectual property ahead of his ambitions to weaken the Qatar royal family.
The beIN Media Group had commissioned research from three of the world’s leading digital security companies to investigate whether the Saudi-based pirate TV channel beoutQ – was being distributed on the satellite provider Arabsat.
The beIN Media Group claimed in a statement that beoutQ had pirated everything from the Olympic Games, Formula 1 and Wimbledon tennis, to the Uefa Champions League, the English Premier League and La Liga. Every single game of the Fifa World Cup 2018 in Russia was broadcast illegally in Saudi Arabia by beoutQ, making it one of the most pirated sports events in history.
Qatar has repeatedly asked Riyadh to take the simple step of turning off the transmissions on its Arabsat, but Riyadh has denied any involvement.
The Qatar government claims the political motivations behind Saudi Arabia’s refusal to act were manifestly clear. It added that in addition to pirating the world’s most valuable sports content, it is no coincidence that beoutQ also distributes a stream of anti-Qatar propaganda.
It adds that Arabsat is a major regional satellite operator headquartered in Saudi Arabia. It is owned by the governments of the Arab League and its largest shareholder is Saudi Arabia; and Arabsat’s CEO is a Saudi national.
“The fact that beoutQ itself – on its own Facebook and other social media channels – lists the specific Arabsat frequencies on which it is available makes a mockery of Arabsat’s recent statements that beoutQ has never been transmitted by the satellite provider.
It adds “beoutQ set-top boxes have been widely and openly sold across Saudi Arabia from dealers regulated by the Saudi regulatory authority , including at dealers which have been openly publicised by beoutQ, and beoutQ’s pirate channels continue to be viewed in cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants, airport lounges, public places and in homes right across the country”.
The Saudi government and Arabsat have both been contacted for comment.
