beIN Sports will continue its exclusive coverage of the UEFA Champions League in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region as part of a new multi-year broadcast rights deal.
After securing an extension of its broadcasts of UEFA competitions with UC3, beIN Sports will remain the home of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and Women’s Champions League in the MENA until the end of the 2026/27 season.
beIN Sports has held the rights for the Champions League since the 2012/13 season, broadcasting to 23 MENA and 10 Asian countries.
UEFA introduced a new format to the Champions League this season, expanding the number of qualified teams from 32 to 36 in the new eight-game league phase format.
This new format has allowed more games to be broadcast by UEFA partners, enabling outlets to showcase more fixtures to their audiences, increasing overall viewership figures and attention.
Mohammed Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN MENA, said: “With UEFA’s new competition format living up to its promise and producing huge matches from matchday one, we are delighted that beIN will continue to bring this new era to our subscribers in MENA and Asia.
“ beIN has been home to elite European club football for more than a decade now, providing award-winning coverage of every game, insights from a wide range of world-class analysts and experts, and exclusive interviews with the most influential figures in the game.
“We are proud of our partnership with UC3 and to extend it once again is a testament to our position as the global home of football.”
UC3, a joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) designed to find new opportunities for UEFA’s commercial rights, will likely receive a boost by the future consolidation of the presence of its competitions in the MENA and wider Asian regions.
beIN Sports broadcasts to 33 different countries across Asia, including Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in MENA, as well as Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand in Southeast Asia.
The addition of bringing onboard sports marketing agency Relevant as UEFA’s global marketing and sales partner will see UEFA’s premier competitions reach new audiences and markets.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, Co-Managing Director of UC3, added: “We are delighted to extend our long-standing, fruitful partnership with beIN SPORTS.
“Thanks to their cutting-edge analysis and high-quality production levels, fans in 33 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia will continue to enjoy the new-look UEFA men’s club competitions in addition to the exciting, revamped UEFA Women’s Champions League for the next three years.”
