The National Media Council said Saudi Arabia has taken frequent and effective measures to fight TV piracy during the World Cup.
The NMC hit out at Qatari authorities for trying to drag Riyadh into its battle with a channel illegally broadcasting its coverage in Russia.
Qatar-based beIN Sports holds the Middle East and North Africa TV rights to the tournament and has been attempting to stop the illegal broadcast of its feed in Saudi Arabia during the tournament. The beIN Sports network has been blocked in the kingdom Arabia following the trade and diplomatic boycott imposed on Doha a year ago by its neighbours over its support of extremist groups.
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In defeat, Saudi fans are united by an unusual foe
Saudi Arabia lodges complaint with Fifa over beIN’s ‘insulting’ World Cup coverage
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''The NMC appreciates relentless efforts being exerted by the Saudi Ministry of Media in fighting media piracy by a pirate entity named ‘beoutQ’, as part of Saudi government's commitment to protecting IP rights,'' the council said, according to Wam.
Fifa has engaged counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia against beoutQ and was working alongside other sports rights owners that have also been affected to protect its interest. BeoutQ is widely available in the kingdom, but Riyadh says it is not based there and that the authorities are combating the channel's activities.
''Qatar is trying to cover its clear technical failure of protecting its sports channels against piracy,'' the NMC said.
The Council condemned Qatar's attempts to involve its beIN Sports network in politics, including through its programming which has targeted Saudi and other Arab countries and called for a review of its legal status in the countries in which it broadcasts.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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