French pay-TV channel Canal+ is filing a complaint for unfair
competition against Qatari sport pay-tv channel BeIN Sport to the Paris
Court of Commerce.
According to the BFM Business website, Canal+ estimates that Al
Jazeera's affiliate is about to "lose more than €300 million in year 1".
The Vivendi subsidiary thinks beIN Sport practises unfair competition
as, as an enterprise in France, it is submitted to business objectives
while facing the challenge of a channel owned by a foreign state like
Qatar which doesn't have the same restraint.
Launched a year ago, beIN Sport is also suspected of being sold at a price lower than it is effectively worth.
"Its €11 subscription fee is far from covering all sport rights acquisitions," BFM calculates.
The 1.2 million subscribers already signed up wouldn't bring revenues
higher than a €100 million each year, while the beIN Sport grid cost is
estimated at between €300 and €330 million each year, including €150
million just for the French Ligue 1.
Such figures don't include recent rights acquisitions or spending on
publicity and promotional operations to get new subscribers.
According to analysts, beIN Sport will reach a total of five million subs, which is seen as an unrealistic target.
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