The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that, following the completion of a tender, the beIN MEDIA GROUP (beIN SPORTS) has been awarded the exclusive broadcast rights in the Middle East and North Africa for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018, and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo in 2020, as well as the Olympic Games in 2022 and 2024, the host cities of which have yet to be elected.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “I am pleased to welcome our new broadcast partner in the Middle East and North Africa, beIN SPORTS. With its excellent track record in broadcasting, we believe that it will provide fantastic coverage across the region of each edition of the Olympic Games, including free-to-air television coverage. beIN Sports has also committed to providing unprecedented promotion of Olympic sports all year round, including significant support for the Olympic Channel in the future.”
beIN MEDIA GROUP CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “Although we have had the privilege to broadcast the Olympic Games for many years in MENA, our direct acquisition of the Olympics Games from the IOC fulfills our ambition of bringing all premium sports to our viewers in the region. We look forward to further growing our relationship with the IOC.”
IOC member HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Delegate Member for Broadcast Rights – Middle East and North Africa, said: “beIN SPORTS has established itself as a key sports media group in the region and we believe it will be an excellent partner for the Olympic Movement.”
beIN SPORTS has acquired the rights across all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile phone in all languages. The agreement also includes the right to broadcast all editions of the Youth Olympic Games until 2024.
The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.25 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.
For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team: Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org.
About beIN MEDIA GROUP:
beIN MEDIA GROUP LLC, incorporated in January 2014, became the official owner of the global sports network, beIN SPORTS. beIN SPORTS as a brand was first launched in June 2012 in France. On December 31 2013, Al Jazeera Sport was officially spun off from the Al Jazeera Media Network to become beIN SPORTS. Today beIN SPORTS has 36 channels worldwide and broadcasts across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
For more information on beIN MEDIA GROUP, please contact the Media Office: Tel: +974-4457-7419 e-mail: mediaoffice@beinsports.net or visit www.beinmediagroup.com
