beIN Media Group has been ordered to pay $8 million (SR30 million) in compensation to the Saudi Arabia-based service provider Selevision.
It follows a ruling by the First Instance Court at the Dubai International Financial Center.
The Qatari-based group had sought to overturn an earlier ruling on grounds that an initial ruling was in contradiction of UAE public policy regarding legal fees and the procedure was not in line with an agreement signed between the two parties.
Meanwhile, Selevision was seeking compensation from beIN for breach of contract, in particular surrounding beIN’s commercial offer in Saudi Arabia.
A spokesperson for beIN Media Group told Broadband TV News: “This is not a new decision nor a one-sided decision, as portrayed by some media. First, the proceedings relate to a standard commercial dispute dating back to 2015, which was ruled upon last year. Second, we were pleased that several of Selevision’s claims were dismissed and that the Tribunal found in beIN’s favour on several counts, resulting in a significantly lower award than Selevision had claimed. We are currently considering all available legal options regarding the Tribunal’s overall decision as we strongly believe that we have valid legal grounds. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”