Saudi competition authority to sue beIN Sports for violations

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition (GAC) has decided to file a lawsuit against Qatar’s beIN Sports for “market monopolization violations,” it said in a statement.

Since 2016, the Qatari network has committed a number of such violations, such as using its dominant position to force audiences wishing to watch the UEFA European Championship 2016 – for which beIN had exclusive broadcasting rights – to subscribe, the statement said.

BeIN Sports also forced subscribers to pay for another package and renew for an additional year to watch the championship, even when their subscriptions would have been valid for the duration of the tournament, the statement added.

Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media in June 2017 banned the import and sale of beIN Sports receivers, and banned renewing subscriptions, as the channel did not obtain the required media license.

The move followed an embargo imposed by a Saudi-led coalition of Arab nations against Qatar, accusing the Gulf nation of supporting terrorism.