Canal+ has lodged a complaint against beIN Sport with a court in Nanterre on the grounds that the Qatari-owned company is distorting competition in the French market.
Le Figaro reports that Canal+ has for some time accused the newcomer of profoundly destabilising the pay-TV market and entire audiovisual sector, though now it has gone a stage further in taking legal action.
In Canal+’s view, beIN Sport does not obey the same rules as a private company as its funding comes directly from the Qatari state and the investment into has sunk into broadcasting rights will never yield in a return.
Since its launch over a year ago, beIn Sport has invested €400 million on rights to a number of prestigious sports rights including the London Olympics, Ligue 1, UEFA Champions League and NBA, thereby prompting an increase in the cost of rights by between 30-50%.
When operational and distribution costs are factored in, beIN Sport’s total budget will amount to €430 million, given a monthly revenue of €11 per subscriber would require 5 million to take up its services, as opposed to the 1.2 million today, to balance the company’s books.
beIN Sport is affiliated to Al Jazeera and currently air the channels beIN Sport1, beIN Sport 2 and beIn Sport Max.
