The Premier League have been mocked to their faces. It’s a case of: we’ve stolen your content, see you later
SAUDIS ARE BLAMED FOR ‘UNPRECEDENTED SCALE’ TV PIRACY COSTING GAME BILLIONS
THE Premier League need a strong, thriving Newcastle United investing in players and challenging the elite.
In many ways a takeover by rich benefactors would be good for the league – and the broadcasters who pay billions to show it around the world.
A reinvigorated Newcastle means more people pay for subscriptions to Sky Sports, BT Sports, and overseas for beIN Sports, ESPN, Canal+ and the like. The more subscriptions they sell, the more cash they make from adverts.
That in turn pushes up the price of the TV deal, which banks every club £100million-plus per season, funding big-name transfers and player wages.
It works until TV piracy devalues the whole business model and ruins exclusivity for the firms who have paid billions for the TV rights – as has happened in the Middle East.
Piracy used to be confined to dodgy feeds in pubs, low-scale offenders, or networks of criminals. But never before, it is alleged, has it been supported, funded and directed by a state – Saudi Arabia – which is now trying to buy Newcastle.
In short, the state trying to buy a Premier League club and trying to pass the owners’ and directors’ test stand accused of stealing from the very organisation they now need the approval from.
Not only that, the
Premier League have tried to bring legal action against the piracy nine times. They have their own vast bank of evidence that it is Saudi Arabia who are responsible.
It is backed by European Commission reports, whistleblower evidence, US government reports. And by FIFA, UEFA and other major sporting bodies and leagues who say their sporting broadcast product has been ripped off.
The World Trade Organization will also release a detailed report on Saudi sports piracy next week.
The question is this: How can the Premier League sanction the Saudi takeover of Newcastle when their own executives have “fought them tooth and nail” for three years?
“They have been mocked to their faces,” an industry source said. “It’s a case of: we have stolen your content, we have closed our courts, see you later .... ” Three years ago beoutQ was
launched in Saudi Arabia and the region. According to Premier League documents, up to three million settop boxes were in circulation and piracy on an “unprecedented scale” – not just of football but Formula One and Wimbledon tennis – began.
It continues today via IPTV apps after the box service closed in August last year.
First Saudi Arabia claimed it came from Colombia and Cuba. But that was disproved and the weight of evidence – millions of documents from multiple organisations – is stacked against them.
“BeoutQ essentially became a brand reliable for piracy. In an ideal world those illegal boxes in Saudi Arabia would go away,” said Kevin Plumb, the Premier League’s head of legal affairs.
“All we want is for the territory to respect IP [intellectual property] rights and not be a dark territory for UK rights holders.”
Express Sport have seen correspondence from top-level UK government ministers asking the Saudis to stop. And also legal letters from several broadcasters, including Sky and the BBC, warning the Saudi government to stop ripping off UK content. Submissions by the Premier League in February were particularly damning, saying: “The Saudi Arabian legal system is not allowing the Premier League to have access to it [to launch a copyright claim].”
Can a route be found out of the mess that will see Mike Ashley leave Toon and the Saudis – backed by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman – complete the deal?
Maybe. But will Saudi Arabia be prepared to unblock regional broadcaster beIN and play by the international rules?
Can dealmaker Amanda Staveley persuade the Saudis to give political ground?
Will they be prepared to lose face in a sacrifice to owning a football club at the Premier League top table?
A multi-billion-pound rip-off and a war on piracy, involving football, most other major sports, angry broadcasters and a nation state that does not abide by the rules has rumbled behind the scenes for three years.
The proposed takeover of Newcastle has thrust it into the spotlight and it has left the Premier League in an almost impossible situation.