Qatari media giant says targeted by 'sophisticated' UAE piracy
Qatari media giant beIN says it is being targeted in a “sophisticated” piracy operation knocking its channels off air in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The campaign has seen the beIN channels’ signals being pirated by a company named BeOutQ, the Middle East Eye news portal reported. BeOutQ broadcasts on Arabsat, whose largest shareholder is Saudi Arabia.
BeIN’s output has a strong audience base in the UAE, where thousands of viewers have anxiously taken to social media to complain about the situation.
UAE digital television company Du, however, said that the Qatari company had itself decided to kill the channels.
"We regret to inform that our customers are temporarily unable to view beIN sports channels and packages as a result of a decision by the broadcaster of beIN sports," it said.
BeIN has called on FIFA, which has granted it the right to air the World Cup due to start in Russia later in the month, to sue those conducting the piracy operation.
Oman has so far rushed to the company’s support by banning decoders that allow viewers to watch the tournament via stolen signals.
BeIN is a sister business to Qatari flagship international newscaster Al Jazeera.
The UAE is part of a group of Arab states including Saudi Arabia that have ostracized Qatar.
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, in a scheme generally believed to have been orchestrated by Riyadh.
The quartet has presented Qatar with a list of steep demands, including Doha's closure of the Al Jazeera broadcaster, and imposed sanctions against the peninsula in the Persian Gulf.
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