Telemundo accused BeoutQ of illegally distributing its WC broadcasts in MENA.GETTY IMAGES
NBCUniversal said that its broadcasts of 2018 World Cup games "have been illegally distributed in the Middle East and North Africa" by pirate streaming service BeoutQ, "which claims to be backed by Colombian, Cuban and Middle Eastern investors," according to Hellier & Novy-Williams of BLOOMBERG. NBC's Telemundo unit, which holds the Spanish-language rights to the 2018 World Cup in the U.S., made the accusation Monday. The company said, "We take intellectual property infringement seriously," adding that it is working closely with FIFA "to protect its rights." Telemundo is "not the first to complain." Qatari sports network beIN, a major rights holder in MENA, has "for months accused BeoutQ of copying its streams in Saudi Arabia." U.K.-based Eleven Sports also said Monday that its live rights, which do not include the World Cup, have been pirated by BeoutQ. A company spokesperson said, "This unauthorized streaming of Eleven Sports' services seriously infringes our intellectual property rights." The World Cup piracy is "a product of regional politics." In '17, "a handful of Middle Eastern countries cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar over its alleged support of terrorism." As an extension of that boycott, beIN Network, which owns the regional rights to the World Cup, is not being distributed in countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain (BLOOMBERG, 6/18).
