Wimbledon, Saudi Arabia Lock Horns Over BeoutQ Piracy Claims

The Saudi Ministry of Media reportedly rejected "baseless Wimbledon claims," sparking a "war of words," according to Robert Briel of BROADBAND TV NEWS. Calling the claims "inaccurate and irresponsible," the ministry denied that pirate operator beoutQ is based in Saudi Arabia, claiming it is "based in either Cuba or Colombia." The ministry said, "Given the current diplomatic impasse between Qatar and numerous Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, claims emanating from Al Jazeera that beoutQ is based in the Kingdom are highly suspect." Last week, the ITF and ATP joined forces to publicly condemn and "call for the immediate closure" of beoutQ. Over the past year, a "whole variety of world tennis content has been illegally broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa region" by beoutQ, which, in turn, distributes the content on Riyadh-based satellite provider Arabsat, "without any rights whatsoever to do so" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 7/9).