Saudi Arabia permanently cancels beIN Sport licence

The Saudi Arabian authorities have permanently revoked the licence of the Qatari owned beIN Sport.

The broadcaster has also been fined US$2.7 million for alleged “monopolistic” practices.

It’s the latest move by the Saudis against beIN Sport which has endured a series of actions since the Kingdom’s boycott of Qatar, alleging the country’s support for terrorism.

“The decision is nonsensical on every single level,” said beIN in a statement.

Initially, consumers were prevented from subscribing to beIN Sport from Saudi Arabia, the sale and distribution of receivers capable of receiving the channel were banned and websites from Qatar were blocked.

Then in 2018, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition (GAC) revoked the channel’s licence and fined it R10 million for alleged breaches of local competition laws.

beIN was accused of abusing its position in the run up to the 2016 European Championships, saying the broadcaster forced fans to purchase other non-sports channels as part of a larger bundle.

Last month, the WTO named the Saudi government as responsible for pirate TV channel beoutQ.

The broadcaster is responsible for the pirating of a string of top flight sports events including Champions League, Bundesliga, Premier League, Formula 1 and NFL.