Brought to you by the UK broadcasters condemn Saudi operation in letters to European trade commissioner. Getty Images British public broadcaster the BBC and pay-TV giant Sky have called on the European commission to act over BeoutQ, the Saudi Arabia-based pirate TV channel illegally distributing billions of dollars’ worth of premium sports content in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The two broadcasters have written to Anna Malmström, the European commissioner for trade, outlining their concerns and backing a formal EU protest to the Saudi government about BeoutQ. Both media companies emphasised the negative impact pirate channels could have on the broadcast rights landscape going forward, with Sky’s letter highlighting ‘threats posed to European broadcasters and rights owners by a relatively new, but rapidly growing, source of audiovisual piracy, namely the BeoutQ service’. It added: ‘[Sky] understands that [the directorate general of trade] is planning imminently to launch a démarche towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia authorities regarding the issue. The purpose of this letter is to confirm Sky’s full support for that démarche.’ The BBC, meanwhile, said that the long-term availability of its channels on BeoutQ could significantly damage its finances in the future. ‘The availability of the BBC channels and content via BeoutQ’s pirate activity will adversely impact BBC Studios’ ability to license these channels to partners throughout Europe and also the ability of our European partners to sell subscriptions to their television services,’ the letter said. BeoutQ launched as a geo-blocked website available only in Saudi Arabia following the suspension of diplomatic relations between the country and Qatar in 2017. The network initially targeted Qatar-backed broadcasting giant BeIN Sports, but the service has now developed into a sophisticated piracy operation, with set-top boxes available for purchase internationally providing streaming access to thousands of TV channels as well as live sport. BeIN claims that it has suffered damages exceeding US$1 billion because of the discriminatory measures implemented by Saudi Arabia, and the company recently launched an international investment arbitration against the kingdom over ‘the most widespread piracy of sports broadcasting the world has ever seen’. BeoutQ, which is transmitted on ten channels by Riyadh-based satellite operator Arabsat, came into the spotlight during the recent Fifa World Cup, when the service illegally showed the entire tournament without the rights to do so. It has also pirated coverage of the Uefa Champions League, the Premier League, Formula One, global tennis tournaments and various other flagship sports properties. A number of sporting organisations have since publicly condemned the service, with the Premier League opening legal proceedings in Saudi Arabia against BeoutQ. The Saudis have long denied being behind BeoutQ, but BeIN announced in August that digital security, media solutions and technology companies Cisco Systems, Nagra and Overon had all investigated and confirmed that the piracy channel is being distributed on Arabsat.
The BBC and Sky are the latest global broadcasters calling for action against Saudi Arabian pirate broadcaster BeoutQ. It has been accused of illegally airing lucrative live sport, including the recent World Cup, without the rights to do so. In a letter sent on Tuesday to the BBC, Sky, BSkyB and other broadcasters, Mr Cameron said that he was "appalled" by what he called "a blatant breach of international law".