Matt Slater of The Athletic has been discussing the Newcastle United takeover on a recent edition of the Pod On The Tyne.
The takeover is yet to be approved by the Premier League despite the owners’ and directors’ test process having begun 84 days ago. One of the major stumbling points in regards to the deal appears to be the piracy dispute and Slater explained why this has been such a major issue to those currently presiding over the matter.
He said: “The reason that the BeoutQ-BeIN dispute is so fundamentally challenging and difficult for the Premier League is this: BeIN are a fantastic partner of not just the Premier League, but lots of British sports and lots of global sports.
“Like a lot of things the Qataris do, they’ve thrown money at this, they’ve jumped into this space enthusiastically and they have spent an awful lot of money on rights. BeIN Sports have grown really fast and they own pretty much all the premium sports content across the Middle East and North Africa. They’re a serious player, I think they’re the third-biggest investor in Premier League rights.”
Do you believe the piracy issue has been the biggest hold up?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Based on Slater’s comments, you can understand why the Premier League may feel they’re in an extremely difficult position. It was just last year when together with FACT, one of the UK’s leading intellectual property protection organisations, the Premier League announced they would be launching a joint initiative to crack down on those supplying and reselling illegal sports streaming services.
If those responsible for approving the takeover were to completely overlook the concerns raised and the World Trade Organisation’s findings in which they concluded that Saudi Arabia is behind the BeoutQ service they could be seen as hypocritical and to be abandoning their own principles.