The Premier League will continue to be broadcast in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) via BeIN Sports according to a report from the Daily Mail.
The reported $500m deal has been agreed in principle and is expected to begin from the 2025-26 season onwards, expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
No figure has been reported yet what the deal could be worth but the current overseas broadcast deal between the Premier League and the Qatar-based broadcaster is worth a reported $500m for the rights to show games from 2022 to 2025.
Premier League clubs are believed to have given the greenlight for the deal to commence at last week’s shareholders meeting.
BeIN Sports has been the home of the Premier League for the MENA region over the last several years, broadcasting all 380 fixtures in over 24 MENA countries, which doesn’t however, include Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have ongoing tensions between the two which has ultimately resulted in Saudi Arabia blocking any BeIN TV coverage in the country, who’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) own Premier League side Newcastle United.
With BeIN and the PIF reportedly refusing to negotiate with one another to find a resolve, this could become a problem for the PIF’s objective to help grow a fanbase and promote Newcastle if their matches are not being broadcasted on TV in the country.
The Daily Mail has revealed that the Premier League is unhappy with the Saudi’s boycott of BeIN coverage but have also acknowledged that it is beyond their power to find a resolution.
