Frustrations Simmer as Saudis Are Blocked From Watching the World Cup

DOHA, Qatar — In the stands at the World Cup, the fraternal bond between host Qatar and its neighbor Saudi Arabia has been clear. Fans have arrived to games dressed in the colors of both nations, and the countries’ rulers have made a show of publicly supporting one another.

Even so, the nations appear to be locked in a curious dispute about broadcasting that has made a majority of the World Cup’s games unavailable to viewers in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi-based customers of Tod TV, a streaming service launched in January by Qatar’s beIN Media Group, which owns rights to the tournament across the Middle East, were suddenly blocked from the platform an hour before the tournament’s opening game last Sunday. That meant they were not watching when their country’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, wearing a Qatar scarf, was given a place next to Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, one step removed from Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani who is the emir in Qatar.

Two years ago, Prince Mohammed was leading a regional boycott of Qatar and a long-running effort by a Saudi-backed pirate group to effectively stop Qatar from hosting the World Cup. The sight of Prince Mohammed being given such a prominent position at the World Cup would have seemed unimaginable. stole billions of dollars worth of beIN’s sports content. Relations had improved so much since the thaw that Saudi Arabia is now considering purchasing a stake at beIN. It has already signed a $130 million marketing agreementThe Qatari company

With that backdrop, beIN officials have been stunned to find their streaming platform suspended by Saudi Arabia’s media regulators. BeIN has lobbied FIFA, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister and even the United States and British government to find a way to get their services unlocked but have so far struck out and remain unclear why the action has been taken in a country where soccer is fervently followed by millions and that has sent thousands of soccer fans flooding across the border. Qatar’s emir even wore a Saudi Arabia scarf during Saudi Arabia’s shock victory over powerhouse Argentina Monday.

The media ministry sent the only official message, informing subscribers who attempted to log in that the network had been suspended due to an unknown violation of regulations.

Saudi subscribers have flooded social media with complaints about their lack of access to the site, while electronics companies that carry Tod TV on their equipment have also sought answers from beIN’s Tod subsidiary. The network was unable or unwilling to explain the reason for the action. Only this week, Prince Salman directed all state institutions in Qatar to support Qatari efforts to host World Cup.

“Due to matters beyond our control, we are experiencing an outage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is currently impacting TOD.tv, the official streaming partner of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Additional information will be provided as soon as it is available,” Tod wrote to its partners.

Saudi’s media ministry did not reply to an email for comment. FIFA, which has been close to Saudi Arabia and has encouraged the Gulf country to bid to host the 2030 World Cup has also not responded to a request.

Majid AlQasabi is the head of Saudi Arabia Media Ministry. He is also a member of the board for the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. This entity is currently in negotiations to purchase a stake in beIN.

FIFA joined many sports leagues and federations to demand Saudi Arabia takes action against the Saudi-backed pirate group, BeOUTQ. This network flourished during the blockade which reached its peak in 2018, when Russia hosted the last World Cup. It was then pirated in all of its entirety.

Tod, which was suspended suddenly, has grown to be the largest streaming platform in Saudi Arabia. This surpasses subscription numbers for other international services like Netflix or Disney Plus.

Under its agreement with FIFA, beIN is broadcasting 22 World Cup games on free television in Saudi Arabia, including the opening game, the final and all of Saudi’s games. Tod cannot access the 42 remaining games. Millions of soccer-loving Saudis are furious at the suspension, whose passion only grew after Argentina’s defeat.

Saudi Arabia has been pushing to make itself a global player in the sport sector and this ban on streaming sites is part of that push. Saudi Arabia has quickly become one of the largest investors in the sector. It has bought a wide range of rights and events, including Newcastle’s Premier League soccer team, and launched LIV Golf, which is backed by billions of dollar and pretends to take over established competitions.