beIN bags Champions League in seven country Southeast Asia rights deal

While its fate in France remains unclear, beIN Media Group has expanded its presence in Asia by picking up the rights to the UEFA Champions League.

The Qatar-based beIN has acquired the rights to the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and UEFA Youth League in seven Asian countries: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

The broadcaster attributed its success in acquiring the rights to a commitment from UEFA to enforcing anti-piracy measures. BeIN is particularly sensitive on the topic of piracy, having previously been the subject of a years-long state-sponsored piracy campaign dubbed beoutQ.

In a statement, Mike Kerr, beIN Asia Pacific’s managing director, said: “BeIN is delighted to renew our valued relationship with Uefa as their club competitions broadcast partner in Asia, complementing our existing rights portfolio of a wide range of premium sports. As the leading pan-regional sports broadcaster in the region, we aim to work alongside our key affiliate partners to grow audiences and provide a compelling sports experience across all screens.”

For UEFA, this deal is a return to a more traditional broadcast deal after it spent the 2020/21 season airing the competitions on its own digital platform. This came after DAZN returned its rights to the competition in a number of Southeast Asian countries as it reconsolidated its business.