AP

Serie A yet to sell TV rights after Qatar’s beIN backed out

Jun 21, 2021, 7:30 PM | Updated: Jun 22, 2021, 7:33 am

Serie A has been unable to sell its Middle East television rights, rejecting the offers made after beIN Sports did not bid over concerns about the Italian league’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Qatar-owned beIN was not part of the rights auction process to retain the rights after Serie A signed deals to play three Italian Super Cups in Saudi Arabia despite the protests about the kingdom’s links to broadcast piracy through the renegade beoutQ operation.

Serie A said it rejected the unidentified bids received for the 2021-24 for the Middle East and North Africa.

“We will open new negotiations in the next weeks,” Serie A told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “We prefer not to comment on the details of the offers and the reason of our refusal.”

The lack of interest in taking up the rights by beIN denies Serie A potentially significant revenue since it was previously paying $500 million for rights over three seasons in 36 territories including the 24 countries in the MENA region, amounting to more than half of the league’s overseas revenue.

“We’ve been ostracized by beIN,” Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo told the AP in March, “and that makes it very complicated and difficult for us.”

FIFA and other major soccer competitions have spent more than three years trying to stop a Saudi-facilitated broadcasting operation from pirating broadcasts from Qatar’s beIN Sports. FIFA issued a statement in 2019 saying the “piracy continues unabated” and requesting the “Saudi government take swift and decisive action against beoutQ.” The World Trade Organization last year found the Saudi state blocked moves to shut down beoutQ.

The pirating of rights was a proxy of the wider Gulf dispute that had seen Qatar boycotted economically and diplomatically by its neighbors since 2017 before the crisis eased in January with Doha signing a declaration with Saudi Arabia as well as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Serie A yet to sell TV rights after Qatar’s beIN backed out