beIN Sports bids €250m for Barca, Real Madrid rights
June 18, 2015
Al Jazeera’s beIN Sports is bidding up to €250 million to broadcast football matches in Spain every week featuring either Real Madrid or Barcelona. The figure has emerged in the run-up to the bidding war for the new TV rights packages.
beIN Sports, owned by Qatari news network Al Jazeera, are set to make a significant play for football rights and are specifically interested in airing 20 Barcelona and 20 Real Madrid games each season in a premium slot. The possibility has been mooted during discussions of having these fixtures kick off at 18:15 on Saturdays, which would be a strategic time to attract viewers in England.
The auction is set to start in two weeks’ time.