beIN Media Group: Saudi PIF "in talks" to invest in the Qatari group (press)

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is "in talks" to invest in Qatari pay-TV group beIN Media Group, according to the British daily The Telegraph on 21/10/2024.

These discussions began after the PIF acquired a stake in Newcastle United FC (Premier League) on 07/12/2021. However, they have been interrupted several times due to disputes between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, notably after the blocking of the Tod streaming platform (owned by beIN) on Saudi territory since the 2022 World Cup.

The broadcasting of beIN's pay-TV channels was also banned in Saudi Arabia for more than four years between June 2017 and the end of 2021. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced on 05/06/2017 that they were severing trade and diplomatic relations with Qatar.

BeIN Media Group then filed a $1bn (€1.026m) arbitration case against Saudi Arabia "for being illegally excluded from the Saudi market and having been made the the object of what could be described as the most important piracy in the history of the sports broadcasting industry" (illegal broadcasting, on Saudi…