Qatari media giant claims 'irrefutable' proof of Saudi piracy

BeIN Media Group, a Qatar-based sports network that holds the exclusive rights to broadcast European and international championship tournaments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, says it has “irrefutable evidence” that Saudi Arabia and the Riyadh-based Arabsat satellite operator are involved in the broadcast of pirate sports network beoutQ.

“The evidence is irrefutable. The illegal channel beoutQ is backed by Saudi nationals and openly promoted by leading Saudi figures. It is broadcast on Arabsat,” said beIN's director of legal affairs, Sophie Jordan, on Thursday.

She added, “On a daily basis it is carrying out, in broad daylight, a mass-scale theft of highly valuable intellectual property rights.”

Jordan further noted that a research by US company Cisco Systems, Swiss firm NAGRA and Spain-based Overon – which are recognized as three international leading digital security companies – has confirmed Arabsat's involvement in beoutQ’s stealing signal and broadcasting it as its own.

BeoutQ, a 10-channel system broadcasting to the MENA region on Arabsat, is allegedly being aired from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and Arabsat have both denied any links with the channel.

The Doha-based beIN Media Group says it has paid billions of dollars to secure exclusive rights to broadcast English Premier League and French Ligue 1 matches live.

The global network of sports channels, which is a spinoff of al-Jazeera Media Network, recently announced that it had found out that its broadcasts from both professional leagues had been stolen and broadcast illegally across Saudi Arabia.

The controversy comes as beoutQ also illegally broadcast the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament.

Qatar calls for FIFA action on Saudi 'piracy'

A Qatari sport and entertainment network calls on FIFA to take legal action against broadcast "pirates" in Saudi Arabia ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

Last month, the international governing body of football, FIFA, said in a statement that it had “engaged counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia” against the pirate channel.  

“FIFA urges the authorities of Saudi Arabia and of the different countries where these illegal activities have been observed to support us in the fight against piracy,” it said.

Tennis governing bodies have also issued a joint statement, condemning beoutQ's pirated coverage of major tennis tournaments.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt all cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 last year, after officially accusing it of “sponsoring terrorism.”

PressTV-Qatar orders Arab Quartet goods off shop shelves

Qatar bans the products made by the four Arab states that have placed embargo against the country.

The administration of the Saudi-backed and former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Libya, the Maldives, Djibouti, Senegal and the Comoros later joined the camp in ending diplomatic ties with Doha. Jordan downgraded its diplomatic relations as well.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry later announced that the decision to cut diplomatic ties was unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions.

On June 9, 2017, Qatar strongly dismissed allegations of supporting terrorism after the Saudi regime and its allies blacklisted dozens of individuals and entities purportedly associated with Doha.

Later that month, Saudi Arabia and its allies released a 13-point list of demands, including the closure of Al Jazeera television network and downgrade of relations with Iran, in return for the normalization of diplomatic relations with Doha.

The document containing the demands by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain also asked Qatar to sever all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement. Qatar rejected the demands as "unreasonable."

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