Shops selling beIN Sports cards to face tough action

Manama : The Ministry of Information Affairs yesterday announced that it will step up inspections against shops selling beIN Sports receivers, warning strict action against violators.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have banned the import of beIN Sports receivers and stopped the sale and renewal of subscriptions to the Qatar state-funded sports channels. The Doha-headquartered beIN media group is the successor of Al Jazeera Sports launched in 2003. In January 2014, the beIN media group was incorporated and Al Jazeera Sports channels were rebranded to beIN Sports.

In November 2015, the group announced it would be expanding from sports-only offerings to air “blockbuster movies, family entertainment, factual and kids’ content.” The group says it broadcasts 60 channels across five continents, within 43 countries, and in seven different languages. It has more than 55 million pay-TV subscribers. The network is blatantly involved in suspicious cases linked to supporting terrorism and extremist groups and to promoting the discourse of sedition, hatred and extremism in the region, the ministry said.

The channels were also found, mainly during the broadcasting of FIFA World Cup matches, to be involved in campaigns of political distortion against several Arab countries and in abuses to discredit them. The ministry said that it condemned such abuses that reflected a poor mind-set within the channels and the adoption of a confused policy and terrible media standards that cannot be missed by any observer.