£300m Toon bid hit by £80 TV box

BT and Sky, the Premier League’s biggest TV partners, lobbied the USA Government to sanction the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because of TV piracy as recently as January 2020, further complicating the projected Newcastle United takeover by the Middle Eastern nation’s Public Investment Fund.

BT and Sky’s Premier League deals are worth £4.55 billion and the companies formed part of the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance’s submission to the US Government this year, asking them to retain the Saudi state on the priority watch-list of nations regarding TV piracy, because of the Saudi-based beoutQ pirate broadcaster.

The BBC, another key Premier League partner, has also complained to the

European Commission regarding TV piracy, in a row which originally centred on the theft of Middle Eastern TV rights from Qatari TV firm beIN SPORTS but which is now focused on set-top boxes distributed in Saudi Arabia.

It adds to the raft of complications facing the Premier League as their lawyers scrutinise the £300m bid for Newcastle.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also the chairman of the Public Investment Fund, which would take an 80 per cent stake, and objections have been raised regarding the takeover’s compliance with Premier League rules.

The US Senate have adopted a resolution that they believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ‘is responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,’ a Saudi dissident journalist, who was tortured, murdered and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by Saudi Government agents.

The Saudi Government have said the US Senate resolution was based on ‘unsubstantiated claims and allegations’. The Premier League will also have to examine whether there is a perceived conflict of interest with Sheffield United, which is owned by his cousin, Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad, who is a more junior member of the al-Saud royal family.

But it is the piracy of TV content throughout Saudi Arabia which appears to be the most taxing issue for the Premier League, who themselves also wrote to the US Government this year protesting the inadequacy of enforcement by Saudi authorities. A letter from

Sky and BT, dated January 31 2020, states that, even though beoutQ broadcasts from the Arabsat satellite, which is 36 per cent owned by the Saudi state, have ceased, they remain concerned that ‘piracy continues to run rampant in Saudi Arabia and that IPTV apps providing access to pirated content continue to be available on the up to three million beoutQ set-top boxes reportedly in circulation in Saudi Arabia and the region, among others’.

For about £80, it is still possible to obtain beoutQ set-top boxes (left) and watch not only beIN SPORTS content but Sky, BT and the BBC among others. The boxes are even available in the UK, with the Premier League successfully prosecuting a vendor last year. The nation of Qatar, which owns beIN SPORTS, is in an economic and political dispute with Saudi Arabia and its neighbours. BeoutQ appeared in 2017 and stole all the 2018 World Cup rights from beIN SPORTS as well as Champions League, Premier League and all major European leagues.

Sources close to the Newcastle bid insist that it remains on course and the fact that two weeks has elapsed since they submitted proposals to the Premier League is normal. They fear they have become caught up in a geopolitical battle that has no bearing on their ability to run the club.