By Jonathan Easton
While its fate in France remains unclear, beIN Media Group has expanded its presence in Asia by picking up the rights to the UEFA Champions League.
The Qatar-based beIN has acquired the rights to the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and UEFA Youth League in seven Asian countries: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.
The broadcaster attributed its success in acquiring the rights to a commitment from UEFA to enforcing anti-piracy measures. BeIN is particularly sensitive on the topic of piracy, having previously been the subject of a years-long state-sponsored piracy campaign dubbed beoutQ.
In a statement, beIN Asia Pacific’s managing director, Mike Kerr said: “BeIN is delighted to renew our valued relationship with Uefa as their club competitions broadcast partner in Asia, complementing our existing rights portfolio of a wide range of premium sports. As the leading pan-regional sports broadcaster in the region, we aim to work alongside our key affiliate partners to grow audiences and provide a compelling sports experience across all screens.”
For UEFA, this deal is a return to a more traditional broadcast deal after it spent the 2020/21 season airing the competitions on its own digital platform. This came after DAZN returned its rights to the competition in a number of Southeast Asian countries as it reconsolidated its business.
