Saudi Arabia: end of blockade on Qatar could mean a possible return of beIN Sports

Saudi Arabia has reopened its airspace as well as its land and sea borders with Qatar on 04/01/2021. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had announced the termination of trade and diplomatic relations with Qatar, which they accused of being a "troublemaker" an "agent of Iran" and "supporting terrorism" on 05/06/2017.

Since that date, beIN Media Group's pay-TV channels have not been broadcast in Saudi Arabia. Sports competitions, whose broadcasting rights were held by the Qatari group in the MENA zone, such as the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League, LaLiga Santander, Serie A TIM, the Bundesliga or Ligue 1 Uber Eats have only been accessible via illegal means and mass piracy has developed in Saudi Arabia, notably via the pirate entity beoutQ.

The WTO (World Trade Organization) had asked Saudi Arabia to comply with international intellectual property regulations in a decision published on 16/06/2020. Mass piracy had been a factor in blocking the takeover of Newcastle United FC (Premier League) by a consortium including the Public…