BeIN vs. SSC: Can Saudi Arabia dethrone Qatar from its monopolistic reign over sports broadcasting?

It's been ten years since the rebranding of the Qatari purple sports channels from Al Jazeera Sports to BeIN SPORTS in January 2014. Al Jazeera Sports was first established in August 2003 and began broadcasting in November of the same year.

Some believe the name change was an attempt to distance the sports channels from the Al Jazeera news network. However, former BeIN SPORTS commentator and current SSC commentator Hatem Btisha offers a different perspective. He tells Raseef22, "Even under its old name, Al Jazeera Sports had no connection to Al Jazeera News. There was a complete separation between sports and politics, and any guest or analyst could see that there was no overlap between the two networks."

Over the past decade, no Arab or regional, and perhaps even global, channel has challenged BeIN's dominance—until the emergence of Saudi Arabia's SSC network. Some speculate that SSC (Saudi Sports Company), with generous backing from the ambitious Saudi government aiming for regional sports leadership, might be able to unseat the purple network's monopoly. So, can SSC truly succeed? Does the Kingdom seek to outperform its Gulf neighbor? And is this merely a sports rivalry, or is there more at play?

Aiming for global reach

Since its inception and rise to prominence in sports broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa, BeIN built a strong portfolio that quickly gained it distinction and popularity.

The group of sports channels offered its viewers access to several global tournaments for free, such as the Portuguese and Spanish football leagues. However, the network eventually had to encrypt broadcasts of the Spanish league, as Btisha explains, "The Spanish league was broadcast on the open channel, but Spain demanded it be encrypted because the NileSat signal reached Spain. This led to a broader vision and a project to expand into North America, Asia, Australia, France, and Spain, beyond just North Africa and the Middle East."

Over the past decade, no Arab or regional, and perhaps even global, channel has challenged BeIN's dominance—until the emergence of Saudi Arabia's SSC network. Some speculate that SSC, with generous backing from the ambitious Saudi government aiming for regional sports leadership, might be able to unseat the purple network's monopoly. So, can SSC truly succeed? What challenges might SSC face?

New management

When the channel rebranded to BeIN SPORTS , Nasser al-Khelaifi was appointed as chairman of its board of directors, having previously served as the director of broadcasting. Al-Khelaifi expanded the group's activities in the Middle East and North Africa to include movies, general entertainment, documentaries, and children's content. In 2016, BeIN acquired Miramax Studios in Hollywood, known for producing award-winning international films, according to the BeIN Media Group website.

BeIN SPORTS secured exclusive broadcasting rights for major global sports events, such as the English Premier League, the English Football League Championship, La Liga (the Spanish league), Ligue 1 (the French league), the Bundesliga (the German league), the UEFA Champions League, the CAF Champions League (African league), the FIFA World Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and the UEFA European Championship, all this in the field of football alone.

The channel provides 24-hour live streaming, ensuring that viewers can tune in at any time to find a live sports event. BeIN SPORTS covers the NBA, all major tennis tournaments including Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Formula One racing, the Olympics, and various other championships.

Attracting foreign talent

One of the reasons for BeIN's success is its ability to attract global sports talent, such as renowned Sky Sports commentators Richard Keys and Andy Gray, who host "The Keys & Gray Show." Keys noted that they have millions of viewers on BeIN SPORTS and that he holds a much more significant job at the network than his previous position at Sky Sports.

Since its inception and rise to prominence in sports broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa, BeIN has built a strong portfolio that quickly gained it distinction and popularity. BeIN SPORTS secured exclusive broadcasting rights for major global sports events, such as the English Premier League, the English Football League Championship, La Liga (the Spanish league), and the FIFA World Cup. The channel provides 24-hour live streaming, ensuring that viewers can tune in at any time to find a live sports event.

The impact of BeIN on Abu Dhabi sports channels

Before the rise of BeIN, the Abu Dhabi Sports channels group held the rights to the English Premier League, which is extremely popular in the Middle East, attracting significant attention. They also broadcasted major events like the globally famous El Clásico matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the Italian Serie A and some UEFA Champions League games.

Acquiring the Premier League broadcasting rights was a major achievement for Abu Dhabi Sports. It secured these rights from Showtime in 2010 for $360 million, according to Sport 360.

In 2009, Edward Borgerding, CEO of Abu Dhabi Media Company, told the Saudi newspaper Al Riyadh, "This is a crucial period for Abu Dhabi and our media company as we have established a partnership with the most exciting leagues in the world. Our goal is to continue this partnership with the English Premier League for many years to broadcast in the Arab world and present it to the Arab family in the Middle East and North Africa. This supports our strategy to develop and provide the best entertainment, sports, and news services to the Arab audience."

However, this success was short-lived as BeIN SPORTS acquired exclusive rights to the English Premier League. By 2020, BeIN SPORTS paid approximately $500 million to secure exclusive rights, according to Bloomberg.

Currently, the only significant sports broadcasting rights held by Abu Dhabi Sports Channels are for the Italian Serie A, which expires at the end of the next season. It remains unclear whether BeIN SPORTS will also seek to acquire these rights.

Saudi “piracy”

Saudi Arabia's attempts to overcome Qatar's monopoly on broadcasting major global sports events began during the Gulf diplomatic crisis when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar. However, these efforts were not legitimate.

In 2017, a pirated TV network called BeoutQ emerged, broadcasting the entire content of BeIN SPORTS after Saudi Arabia banned the Qatari network. This allowed Saudi viewers to access European club matches.

BeoutQ's widespread presence in Saudi Arabia provoked Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, who stated, "Saudi Arabia must comply with broadcasting rules... The World Trade Organization ruling unequivocally proves Saudi involvement in one of the most complex and damaging piracy operations ever," according beIN Sports.

The Saudi competitor

In 2022, Saudi Arabia's SSC channels emerged as a potential competitor to BeIN SPORTS, acquiring broadcasting rights for the Spanish Cup, the Spanish Super Cup, and the AFC Champions League. With the influx of European players into the Saudi Pro League, SSC gained prominence, especially after securing broadcasting rights for the FIFA Club World Cup in 2023.

Saudi analyst Ali Yaqoub believes that SSC is not yet ready to compete with BeIN SPORTS, stating, "The majority, if not everyone, feels that the channel is running without a clear project or ambition, leading to significant financial waste and exploitative use of the rights of the Saudi League."

As SSC enters the competition for exclusive broadcasting rights for global sports events, a new rivalry has emerged between the networks over acquiring prominent commentators and analysts. SSC has retained notable commentators such as Fares Awad, Hatem Batisha, Fahd Al-Otaibi, and Medhat Shalaby. Additionally, it has introduced notable analysts like Ahmed Ezz and Tamer Badawi, who focus on modern, data-driven analysis rather than relying solely on the experience of former football players, as seen in BeIN SPORTS studios.

However, SSC does not currently pose a significant threat to BeIN's popularity on a global and Middle Eastern scale, at least not for now or in the near future. One of the main obstacles for the Saudi network is that it broadcasts exclusively via the ArabSat satellite, whereas Qatar’s BeIN is available on multiple satellites, including Nilesat, Arabsat, and Badr 1 and 2.

This limitation raises questions about whether SSC might face challenges in securing broadcasting rights for European competitions, such as the Spanish La Liga, which some speculate might eventually be broadcast on SSC.

Saudi analyst Ali Yaqoub believes that “securing broadcasting rights often involves significant financial investments and leveraging relationships. And sometimes even heads of state interfere in winning broadcasting rights and buying players, as seen in France when Mbappé's contract was renewed to prevent his move to Real Madrid. This same dynamic applies to securing broadcast rights, where connections are crucial in winning, in addition, of course, to the amounts of money paid for the bid.”

Yaqoub, however, contends that Saudi channels are not yet prepared to compete with their Qatari counterparts. He expressed his concerns in a detailed tweet on "X" addressed to SSC's management: "The majority, if not everyone, feels that the channel is running without a clear project or ambition, leading to significant financial waste and exploitative use of the rights of the Saudi League."

Saudi analyst Ali Yaqoub Tweet

Yaqoub's stance reflects his desire to see his country's channel remain competitive and well-prepared to challenge a network as established as BeIN. He further elaborates in his post: "Imagine that this channel, which owns the rights to the Saudi League, has only one studio where three programs are aired (an analytical studio, news bulletins, and the Round Up tv program), and another studio at the Al Alamiya headquarters for the 'Barra Al 18' tv show. This contrasts sharply with Emirati and Qatari sports channels like AlKass and Abu Dhabi Sports, which cover leagues that are less popular than ours–with my great respect to them—with multiple studios, diverse programs, and exceptional coverage that attracts even those who are not interested in their leagues. The Asian Cup coverage serves as a prime example."

He warns SSC's management: "You should know that our expectations are very high and what is happening does not satisfy us as subscribers and consumers who pay a sum of money to watch our league in the best possible quality and with premium content." He advises them, "If you want to build a significant and influential sports media project, do not focus on profits for at least five years. Spend, invest, hire, collaborate, identify recurring issues, proactively solve them, and offer a new and different experience to viewers and subscribers."

Yaqoub's comments might shed light on whether the Saudi network can eventually outshine the well-established Qatari BeIN. Nonetheless, no one knows for sure, as mistakes can be rectified and issues resolved. Moreover, BeIN is not without its own internal and external challenges.

Internal struggles within BeIN

Following the successful coverage of the Qatar 2022 World Cup by BeIN channels, Qatari presenter Abdulaziz Al-Nasr announced his resignation from the network, hinting that the timing was not right but promising to reveal everything soon.

However, Al-Nasr later returned to the channel, gaining more prominence at the expense of his colleague and lead presenter Mohammed Saadoun Al-Kuwari. Al-Nasr hosted the analytical studio for Euro 2024 from Germany, while Al Kuwari, who traditionally traveled for such events, did not. Al-Nasr also attended the semi-finals and final of the tournament in Germany, celebrating his trip on X with a photo alongside the traveling crew, captioned "My family."

Moving from presenters to reporters and guests, sports journalist Souheil El Howayeck, a regular guest on the "Sports Evening" show, commented at the start of Euro 2024 that Italy had won the previous tournament by luck. This statement apparently angered Hussein Yassin, an expert on covering the Italian league within the same network, who replied: "In the world of football, when you attribute a team's or a national side's tournament victory to luck, it simply means you know nothing about this game. My advice is to try to learn its basics."

A renewal and identity crisis

Former BeIN presenter and analyst Ayman Jada made a bold statement that he does not listen to his Arab commentator colleagues on the channel and that he has a rule at home: he only listens to English commentators. The reason, he explained in an interview with Al Mashhad media platform, is that even if the English commentator doesn't provide new information, at least "he won't give me a headache."

@almashhadmedia أيمن جادة يتحدث عن أسباب تفضيله المعلقين الإنجليز على العرب بالرغم من حبه الكبير للغة العربية يمكنكم متابعة المقابلة كاملةً في بودكاست #معلبنا مع الكابتن #لطفي_الزعبي عبر قناة ومنصة #المشهد ♬ original sound - Al Mashhad المشهد

This comment was particularly surprising as Jada, along with several commentators and presenters like Lakhdar Brish, Yousef Saif, and Raouf Ben Khlouf, had left the Qatari network. This departure has led to BeIN relying heavily on commentator Hafid Derradji, who has faced significant criticism from Arab football fans on X, including from former footballer and content creator Musaed Alfouzan, who shared that Derradji was bothersome to him and many other football fans due to his lack of neutrality in his commentary.

Hatem Btisha explains the commentator crisis on the Qatari network, "The issue boils down to rights and quantity. Until 2010, the number of matches aired on BeIN channels was quite reasonable, and the amount of tournaments matched the number of commentators, with fair distribution. However, after acquiring the ART Network, the rights to broadcast matches increased, putting significant pressure on the existing commentators despite hiring new ones."

Another issue, according to Btisha, is the sheer volume of matches and their scheduling throughout the week. "The way it used to be is that all matches were played on Saturdays and Sundays, but now games are played on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, with Champions League matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and UEFA matches on Thursdays. This has turned it into a full-week job, and the number of commentators is insufficient. We sometimes commentate on three matches in a single day."

Traditional commentary style

BeIN does not adopt a policy of renewal and modernization but rather maintains the same analytical style. Their studios feature a "constellation of stars from the Arab world," each offering only their opinion and perspective, supported by a strong network of correspondents. However, there is a noticeable lack of statistics and graphical analyses that analysts should provide to the audience; they rely solely on the information given by the preparation team before matches.

In terms of commentary, despite having a new group of young commentators like Ahmed Al-Balushi, Hassan al-Aidaroos, and Amer al-Khuzairi, the channel still relies on its veteran commentators like Issam Chaouali, Ali Mohammad Ali, and Hafid Derradji for major tournaments and matches.

Btisha comments on this, saying, "There are two main schools of commentary: the first is characterized by excessive yelling and shouting, whether needed or unnecessarily, and the second, which I am drawn to, is the calm commentary that focuses on technical aspects and avoids exaggeration and loud exclamations."

“The issue is not just about financial investment. Both networks have substantial financial resources and capabilities, but the audience increasingly favors professionalism, which BeIN has begun to lack." Despite the advantages and strengths of the Qatari network, it faces considerable challenges, including internal disputes, stagnation in commentary and analysis, a shortage of commentators, and widespread criticism of certain commentators' styles.

The Egyptian commentator adds, "However, over the past seven years, we've seen an issue with the Arab audience, which no longer differentiates between good and bad commentary. Therefore, channel officials should consider the differences in commentary styles when scheduling commentators, rather than favoring the style that prefers shouting, yelling, and saying verses of poetry to some players during the game."

For a major tournament like the Euro, BeIN brought back a former asset, Ali Saeed Alkaabi, to commentate on major matches, a decision announced by Alkaabi as having come from the channel's president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

This discussion raises further questions about whether the audience's preferences are to blame for the decline in commentator quality, especially since audience criticism of this commentary style persists. Btisha continues, "The channel is looking for what pleases the audience, in an attempt to satisfy viewers, but if there is an issue with the type of commentators the audience prefers, the channel's management should not simply follow their desires, but should instead guide them toward the right direction. You are not required to please the audience in everything; relying solely on popularity and mass appeal is a mistake. Priority should be given to selection based on professional standards to avoid relying on commentators who repeat the same phrases and clichés in every game, regardless of the game's importance, its events, or the competitors involved."

Will BeIN continue its success?

Sports analyst and content creator Amr Moneim (Omar Elmanamy) believes that BeIN's dominance and superiority are gradually diminishing. He tells Raseef22, "The Qatari supremacy is fading over time. BeIN has lost many tournaments and championships in recent years; they no longer have rights to anything related to Italian football, whether it's Serie A, the Super Cup, or the Coppa Italia, not to mention the Copa America."

He continues, "Additionally, there's a growing lack of trust in the channel's professionalism, and the analysts are seen as weaker compared to those on SSC, which relies on strong analysts and professionalism. The Saudi group is steadily establishing itself, and we could see significant victories for them in acquiring broadcasting rights soon. The Saudi project is not random or haphazard; it has been carefully planned for years, and it's coming on strong."

Regarding financial power, Moneim believes, "The issue is not just about financial investment. Both networks have substantial financial resources and capabilities, but the audience increasingly favors professionalism, which BeIN has begun to lack."