EGYPT / The Competition Authority judges beIN Sports “illegal”

The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has dealt a blow to beIN Sports, the Qatari bouquet of sports channels, by annulling its contract with the Egyptian operator Cable Network Egypt.

According to the ECA’s decision, made public on July 12^th, beIN Sports may have “violated Article 8 of the Law on the Protection of Competition by its use of monopolistic practices” on broadcasting football competitions in Egypt.

The Authority accuses beIN Sports of imposing additional costs on its subscribers by requiring them to “subscribe to the entire content rather than to specific items”. It also condemns beIN Sports use of the Qatari satellite Es’HailSat rather than the Egyptian satellite Nilesat.

The ECA thus declared the contract between the Qatari group and Cable Network Egypt, the company which handles Egyptian viewers’ subscriptions to beIN Sports, “null and void”. It also said subscribers are entitled to request a refund of their subscription.

The Authority had already sent a formal notice to the Qatari group in January. In April 2016, it set up a working group to investigate beIN Sports following a complaint lodged by the Egyptian Consumer Agency.

The ECA’s decision comes in a particular context, with diplomatic relations between Egypt and Qatar officially suspended since June 5^th. At the end of June Egypt and Saudi Arabia launched PBS Sports, a bouquet of sports channels on Nilesat intended to compete head on with beIN Sports. Based in Cairo with a 100% Saudi capital, it will be offered “as much as possible free” according to one of its officials, Muflih Al-Hafatah.

Sources: Daily News Egypt, Ahram Online, Agence Ecofin, Arab News