Premier League: beIN Sports extends rights to MENA (including Saudi Arabia) until 2024-25

The Qatari pay-TV group beIN Media Group has extended its full and exclusive Premier League broadcasting rights to the 24 MENA countries (including Saudi Arabia) over the 2022-2025 cycle on 17/12/2020. beIN has held these rights since the 2013-14 season, or four consecutive rights cycles.

"This deal demonstrates that rights-holders who do the most to protect their intellectual property, also do the most to protect the value of their media rights," said Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chairman of beIN Media Group. The estimated amount paid by beIN for the Premier League rights in the MENA region since the beginning of the partnership is over $2bn (€1.6bn) over 12 years and this new deal is estimated at $166m per season (€135m). It is one of the largest markets for the Premier League's international rights alongside sub-Saharan Africa and the United States.

The MENA zone is subject to tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and beIN Sports has been excluded from the Saudi market (since June 2017) where it, like other broadcasters, is the victim of mass piracy. The WTO (World Trade Organisation…