Premier League say Saudi-backed TV piracy has sucked billions out of football... so how can they now sanction the takeover by a group that has been systemically robbing them?
THE Premier League needs a strong, thriving Newcastle United, investing in players and challenging the elite.
A takeover by rich benefactors should 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 Sport, 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 £100millionplus per season, which then funds big-name transfers and star-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 (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, below) – which is now trying to buy Newcastle United.
In short, the state trying to buy a Premier League club and trying to pass the owners’ and directors’ test, stands accused of stealing from the very organisation it now needs the approval from.
Not only that, the Premier League has tried to bring legal action against the piracy nine times. They have their own vast bank of evidence that it is Saudi Arabia who is responsible.
It is backed by European Commission reports, whistleblower evidence, US government reports. And backed 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 key question is this: how can the Premier League sanction the Saudi takeover of Newcastle when its own executives have “fought them tooth and nail” for three years?
Three years ago, BeoutQ was launched in Saudi Arabia and the region. According to official Premier League documents, up to three million set-top boxes were in circulation, and piracy on an “unprecedented scale”, not just of football but also content from Formula 1 to Wimbledon tennis, began. It continues today via IPTV apps, after the box service closed in August last year. First Saudi 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. All we want is for the territory to respect IP (intellectual property) rights and not be a dark territory for UK rights holders,” said Kevin Plumb (above), the Premier League head of legal affairs in February.
Mirror Sport has 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 cease 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 (left below) leave Toon, and the Saudis complete the deal at St James’ Park?
Maybe. But will Saudi Arabia be prepared to unblock regional broadcaster beIN and play by the international rules?
Can deal-maker Amanda Staveley (left centre) persuade the Saudis to give political ground?
The proposed takeover of Newcastle has thrust them into the spotlight, and it has left the Premier League in an almost impossible situation.
The league is left in an impossible situation