Saudi Arabia has banned the licence of Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, which has been barred from broadcasting in the Kingdom since mid-2017 due to a dispute with Qatar.
The General Authority for Competition (GAC) said: “The GAC had conducted inquiries and investigations regarding complaints filed against BeIN Sports. The result of such investigation have been briefed as BeIN Sports abused its dominant position through several monopolistic practices with respect to potential subscribers to an BeIN’s exclusive sports broadcast bundle of the 2016 UEFA European Championship matches.”
“It has been established for the committee to adjudicate the violations of the competition system that the BN Sport channel group violates the competition system and its executive regulations and the company continues to violate, including in violation of paragraph (3) of Article Five of the competition system issued by Royal Decree No. (M / 25) dated 5/5/1425 / 4 e, which stipulated that “an enterprise that enjoys a dominant position is prohibited from any practice that limits competition in accordance with what is determined by the regulations, including imposing special requirements on sales or purchases.”
Saudi Arabia further accused beIN of withholding the sale of a goods or the offer of a service until the purchase of another good or service had occurred, in reference to the way the channel’s subscriptions were operated.
GAC said: “This has been classified as a clear per se violation of the competition law and its Implementing Regulations. Consequently, the GAC Board of Directors took the necessary measures to stop such practices and eliminate the monopolistic violation that BeIN Sports has committed.”
The fine imposed by the GAC is the maximum under the law due to what they called “high damages” caused by beIN Sports. The decision said the channel’s licence in Saudi Arabia is to be permanently terminated, that all financial gains from the violation are to be returned and that beIN Sports is liable for any fees associated with the case.
