DUBAI: The organiser of Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, has said that it is aware of the situation affecting beIN Sports’ coverage of the event in the region.
Due to the Qatar crisis, beIN Sports, which is owned by Al Jazeera Media Network, has been blocked in multiple Gulf countries, leaving many tennis fans without coverage of the prestigious tournament when it began yesterday.
“The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) is aware of the situation regarding beIN and is in regular contact with them,” a spokesperson from the organisation told Gulf News via email.
The AELTC, which handles the operations of Wimbledon, declined to answer any further questions on the matter. According to one media analyst, Doha-based network beIN Sports may be in breach of contract as Wimbledon begins.
“The way in which the rights to major sports tournaments are awarded is in a competitive bidding environment,” said Ed Hall, Managing Partner at Expert Media Partners, a London-based consultancy that has advised on the sale of sports broadcasting rights.
Obligation
“Part of the obligation that the winning bidder enters into is about the amount of distribution the sport gets,” he told Gulf News by telephone, adding: “On the face of it, you would imagine that in failing to distribute the sport, they’d be in breach of their contract.”
It is unclear if the contract had a force majeure clause within it, which would essentially void beIN Sports’ obligation to fulfil a contract due to unforeseeable circumstances.
Multi-year deals, such as the one signed by Wimbledon and beIN Sports, often have force majeure components written in to them, meaning beIN could avoid being sued for failing to broadcast the tournament to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt.
In April 2016, beIN Sports announced that it had signed an exclusive long-term deal with Wimbledon to broadcast the tennis tournament across the Middle East and North Africa. BeIN Media Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
On social media, many have already announced that they will be cancelling their beIN Sports subscription, hurting beIN’s bottom line.
It is also likely that the failure to show globally important tournaments in key markets such as the UAE, where there is a large expat population, will risk their relationship with the rights owners.
If the diplomatic crisis continues, beIN Sports could lose its key listings such as the Premier League, Formula 1, and the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
