• beIN On Demand will offer archived sport content to subscribers 
  • Includes highlights of FIFA World Cup tournaments and Champions League plus sports documentaries 
  • beIN and Canal+ also settle dispute with French football authorities over TV rights

FIFA World cup Thailand v Saudi (mooinblack shutterstock)

beIN: To launch new sports archive service 

Source: mooinblack/shutterstock

A new sports archive service has been launched by beIN that will offer a selection of classic matches, documentaries and features on-demand.

The sporting archive, which is part of the beIN On Demand offering, will include re-runs of FIFA World Cup tournaments, Champions League matches and highlights from the English Premier League. 

Beyond football, the service will offer documentaries on major sports figures including Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and footballers such as Mohamed Salah, Neymar, and Lionel Messi.  

The documentaries have been produced in-house and have previously aired on beIN’s pay-TV service. 

The catalogue of content will be made available for free to beIN subscribers with connected set-top boxes. It comes at a challenging time for the Qatari sports service, given that most international sports competitions have been suspended or cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown. 

Jonathan Whitehead, head of sports at beIN Sports MENA said: “beIN has made a proud commitment to offer the best programming ever scheduled during this holy month of Ramadan, and this includes our sports programming and services too.  

“We’re therefore delighted to launch our new ‘on demand’ sports service so that fans across MENA can watch and share some of the greatest matches ever played at a time that suits the whole family, as well as learning more about sporting legends such as Mohamed Salah in special beIN documentaries. All of this thrilling sports entertainment is just a click of the button away.” 

beIN has the broadcast rights for numerous competitions in the Middle East and North Africa region, including the FIFA World Cup, the English Premier League, Uefa Champions League, and French football. 

Last year, beIN agreed a deal to exclusively broadcast the next two editions of the FIFA Club World Cup. 

Canal+ and beIN Sports have struck a deal with France’s professional football league (LFP) over payments for rights to matches from the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 competitions played before the coronavirus lockdown. 

At the end of March, Canal+ wrote a letter to the LFP explaining its decision to suspend a €110 million instalment for its broadcasting rights, following the cancellation of all matches during the country’s lockdown. 

beIN was also in dispute with the LFP over its €42 million deal, although a statement from the LFP said it has now resolved this with both broadcasters. 

No financial details were revealed by the Association, but according  

A report in L’Equipe, Canal+ has negotiated a reduced payment amounting to €37 million, including matches played before the lockdown.