DOHA: Cricket is set to reach its biggest ever audience in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) following separate six-year deals signed by Qatar’s beIN Media Group with Cricket Australia (CA) and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
This is the first time cricket will be showcased on beIN Sports and signals the entry of the beIN into cricket broadcasting. Alongside the two agreements, the biggest ever cricket board rights deals for the region, beIN has announced plans to introduce a dedicated beIN Sports cricket channel in the MENA region in 2018.
Driven by an increase in the number of cricket supporting expatriates, including over eight million Indians, beIN is expanding its offer to capitalise on the rapidly growing market for cricket across the Middle East and North Africa.
The channel will screen the broadcaster’s portfolio of premium international and domestic cricket, including ECB and Cricket Australia content, as well as original programming, documentaries and magazine shows.
All games will be available in HD via subscription channels and online and with the recent launch of the beIN MEDIA GROUP’s 4K channel, cricket fans in MENA can look forward to watching selected games in Ultra HD over the coming years.
Of specific Indian expat interest, the rights package includes India’s 2018 and 2022 tours to England and India’s 2018-19 tour of Australia.
beIN MEDIA GROUP will broadcast cricket in more than 24 countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt (this is despite all four countries having cut political and economic ties with Qatar), Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Morocco.
Yousef Al-Obaidly, deputy CEO, beIN Media Group, noted: “We are thrilled to partner with the ECB at such an exciting time for English cricket, building on a similar agreement signed this month with Cricket Australia. Together, these acquisitions and the upcoming launch of our dedicated cricket channel will deliver high quality, in-depth cricket coverage to the rapidly growing audience in the MENA region.
“These agreements are the latest in our ambitious plans to deliver more sports coverage across the region and further enhance our position as the undisputed first choice sports and entertainment broadcaster.”
The two agreements expand beIN’s premium cricket offering and follows a number of rights renewals over the past six months, including the exclusive rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League and Europa League in the MENA region for a further three years.
