BeIN Sports (Middle East)

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) roughly doubled the value of its media rights in the Middle East and North Africa last month after carving them out from a future Asian deal.

BeIN Media Group agreed its first deal for cricket rights last week, marking a notable change in strategy and a clear statement of intent it will go after content traditionally held by its Middle-Eastern rival OSN.

Uefa has almost trebled the value of its Champions League and Europa League media rights in the Middle East and North Africa, following a renewal with Qatar-based beIN Media Group.

On January 4, the Egyptian Competition Authority accused Caf of contravening Egyptian competition law – specifically laws surrounding abuse of a dominant position.

Another public-service broadcasting union lost its grip on Olympic Games rights following deals signed by the International Olympic Committee late last month.

BeIN Sports and Abu Dhabi Media are bidding head-to-head for two major football properties in the Middle East and North Africa – England’s Premier League and Uefa’s European Qualifiers.

Telefónica’s acquisition of all rights to two Primera Liga clubs, and its bid to acquire the rights to Spanish giant Barcelona, are aimed at strengthening the telco’s position ahead of changes in the domestic broadcast market.

Rupert Murdoch’s two Italian pay-television businesses – the Sky Italia satellite platform and the Fox Sports premium channel – reinforced their football portfolios this week as rival operator Mediaset inched closer to a deal to sell a stake in its Mediaset Premium platform to Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports.

The MP & Silva agency agreed deals with the three leading pay-television operators in Belgium last week for the Belgian Pro League but still has an uphill struggle to avoid losing money on the contract.

France’s top football league, Ligue 1, has become the third major rights-holder in just over a month to renew a long-term media-rights deal many years in advance without an open tender.

Interviews with Matt Brabants, senior vice president of global media distribution and business operations, and Elsa Memmi, vice president of global media distribution across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, on the NBA’s global media rights strategy.