BeIN Sports, the pay-TV broadcast heavyweight, has extended its exclusive rights deals covering Spanish soccer’s top-tier LaLiga matches across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC). The deal extensions run through 2026-27 for APAC and 2027-28 for MENA.
BeIN has held rights to Spanish soccer’s top division since 2003 in MENA under its previous guise as ART. In addition, it has been broadcasting LaLiga in selected APAC countries for the last nine years. The most recent tie-up in MENA was unveiled in mid-2019.
The renewed partnership will cover all 380 games from each of the LaLiga seasons included in the deal. This agreement comes just before the start of the new season – with Athletic Bilbao vs Getafe, and Real Betis vs Girona kicking off on August 15th.
Expansion into France
In addition to extending their coverage across MENA and APAC regions, BeIN is also set to cover France's 20-team league through a deal announced earlier this year. Despite having a long-standing partnership with LaLiga, relations between BeIN and LaLiga have been strained over recent years.
In October 2022, BeIN launched legal proceedings against Javier Tebas - president of La Liga - citing a breach of professional ethics after inflammatory remarks about the broadcaster were made by Tebas. This public feud put international rights that BeIN held at that time at risk. However, this renewal signifies an end to their disputes as they continue their collaboration across multiple markets.
Javier Tebas, President of La Liga, said:
“At LaLiga we always look for best-in-class partners to deliver Spanish football to fans everywhere. Our relationship with BeIN has been essential for us in order to ensure people in the MENA and APAC regions enjoy a unique competition.”
Broad coverage across multiple sports
Apart from broadcasting top-tier soccer competitions like England’s Premier League, France’s Ligue 1, and Germany’s Bundesliga in MENA, BeIN also covers NBA basketball and F1 motor racing. In the APAC region, properties shown include F1, tennis’ Australian Open and Roland-Garros events, and soccer’s pan-European UEFA Champions League matches.
For LaLiga, media rights deals were unveiled earlier this year in sub-Saharan Africa with both StarTimes and AzamTV. They also struck a deal with DAZN in Italy and Portugal. This shows LaLiga's commitment to expanding its global presence. North Africa has been a significant source of talent for LaLiga with numerous players like Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), and Munir El Haddadi (Las Palmas) hailing from the region.
The renewal of BeIN's exclusive rights to broadcast La Liga matches across MENA and APAC regions is a significant development for sports fans across these territories. Despite past disputes between BeIN Sports and La Liga officials, this renewed partnership promises exciting times ahead for football enthusiasts worldwide.
