Competition issues likely holding up beIN Sport, analysts say

For a channel that has exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to big-ticket international sports events, beIN Sport doesn’t have the greatest track record in this country. The channel, a sports specialty television network owned by Qatari Sports Investments—which is affiliated with the Qatari-government owned Al Jazeera Media Network—isn’t available anywhere on television in Canada, and competition from existing sports channels may have something to do with it, broadcasting analysts said. BeIN Sport, which launched in France and the United States in the summer of 2012, has the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to cover the Spanish and Italian soccer leagues, La Liga and Serie A. CRTC spokesman Guillaume Castonguay confirmed by telephone that the regulator has not received any applications to add beIN Sport to its list of foreign channels eligible for distribution in Canada, a step that’s necessary before it could seek out distribution agreements with cable, satellite, and IPTV television service providers. “You could argue the Canadian consumer is not very well served in this regard,” Brian Schecter, a media consultant and president of Puddle Duck Productions in Vancouver, said in a phone interview, adding that a limited number of consumer complaints from La Liga and Serie A fans in Canada may not be enough pressure to change whatever’s holding up the channel’s launch. BeIn Sport did not respond to a request for comment made through its website. In the site’s frequently asked questions section, the company says it is “currently negotiating agreements to offer its network in the Canadian market. Please contact your cable TV, telco or satellite provider and let them know you want the beIN SPORT networks in Canada today.” Antonio Briceño, deputy managing director of the network, told Yahoo! News in an interview in August that the channel is “very keen” to launch in Canada. “My top priority personally right now is to launch in Canada. We do have the application prepared and ready to go. The regulatory environment in Canada is very particular, and we need to have a sponsor to get coverage there. That's what we are working on,” Briceño said. “Before we can even apply, we first need to find a sponsor. That has proven to be more challenging than we originally expected. We are working very hard every day, and want to launch in Canada as soon as possible,” he said. Experts in broadcasting say they don’t believe finding a sponsor to file the application is so much of an issue, because almost any broadcast entity could act as a sponsor. The problem may be what happens after the application is filed. If the CRTC receives an application to approve beIN for distribution in Canada, competing sports channels like BCE Inc.’s TSN or Rogers Communications Inc.’s Sportsnet would most likely file objections, Michel Arpin, a broadcast consultant and former CRTC commissioner, said in a phone interview. The application would lead to a regulatory process in which beIN’s competitors would argue that the commission should use its powers to deny the channel’s entry on the basis that it would directly compete with existing Canadian channels. In most cases, the CRTC will stay out of carriage negotiations, Arpin said, which also leads to questions about whether major Canadian broadcast distributors would carry a channel that competes with their own sports properties. “They will object, and if it’s granted the authority, they will not take them in their packages,” Arpin said. Arpin said another issue is the CRTC’s broadcast policy, which says foreign channels broadcasting in Canada must offer competing Canadian channels fair access to license their programming. CRTC policy states that non-Canadian specialty channels operating in Canada “must not hold, nor try to obtain, nor exercise, preferential or exclusive programming rights in relation to the distribution of programming in Canada,” according to regulatory notice 2004-96, issued in December 2004. In other words, beIN Sport, if it launched in Canada, may have to share any exclusive rights to cover leagues like La Liga and Serie A with Canadian broadcasters of live soccer, such as Sportsnet. Schecter said the fact that beIN doesn’t even have a sponsor at this point could suggest the channel is looking for a Canadian partner to share content and ensure carriage. He pointed out that Setanta Sports, owned by Irish company Gaiety Investments, previously operated the Canadian version of its channel in a partnership with Rogers Communications Inc. In 2011, Rogers bought out the rest of the sports channel and rebranded it as Sportsnet World. “Setanta did a deal with Rogers. They get carried that way, and sometimes they morph into Canadian-based channels,” Schecter said. The issue is not a simple one, Schecter said, adding that the regulations surrounding the carriage and distribution of foreign-owned specialty channels in Canada could “are somewhat complicated and convoluted, and probably need to be readdressed.” Some experts and industry officials have called for the complete removal of the foreign ownership restrictions for the Canadian telecom and media sectors. Under the Broadcasting Act, non-Canadians can own no more than 33.3 per cent of the voting shares in a broadcast company. The channel’s absence in Canada has unsurprisingly led to complaints within the blogosphere of Canadian sports fans. “The most damaged casualty in all of this is beIN SPORT's reputation,” Michael McColl wrote on Canadian soccer blog Away From The Numbers in a post on Aug. 15. “The most disappointing aspect is that the football authorities don't seem to care. But, as is usually the case, the most inconvenienced and the ones to suffer the most, are the fans,” McColl wrote in the post, entitled, “The Unbearable Shiteness of beIN.” In what may have been a response to complaints from Canadian consumers, in October beIN Sport made all of its live content free to people within Canada, for a limited time until Jan. 6, 2014, through steaming on its website. “Starting in 2014, you will have the opportunity to continue enjoying beIN SPORT PLAY Canada via our paid subscription service. More information to follow,” said a message on the beIN website, which appeared after The Wire Report successfully signed up for the free online service. Jennifer Kett, a spokeswoman for Rogers, said in an emailed statement that the company has not received “significant demand for the channel,” though she said “we believe that consumers are interested in seeing La Liga games back on Canadian TV.” Kett added: “We are always looking at new content opportunities and are continuing to add our diverse and extensive sports coverage from around the world.” Chris Gerritsen, a spokesman for Telus, said in an emailed statement that the company has not received inquiries from customers to carry beIN Sport. Bell Canada spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis, in response to questions about beIN Sport, said in an emailed statement: “I couldn’t comment on a service offering that we haven’t announced.” —With reporting by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Competition issues likely holding up beIN Sport, analysts say

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Competition issues likely holding up beIN Sport, analysts say

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