The Qatari media group BeIN is further expanding its position in Europe. The company has now acquired the Turkish pay-TV channel Digitürk.
The fact that Qatar, a small but rich desert state, has taken an intensive look at the international sports business should no longer be too groundbreaking news.
Just a few months ago, the Qatari national team hosted the World Handball Championship and even reached the finals of the tournament using controversial methods. In seven years’ time, the World Cup is to be held in the desert state – which is also highly controversial in the sports world. And the BeIN media group is also currently making headlines with its attempt to gradually expand its influence. This is also the case these days with the takeover of the Turkish pay-TV provider Digitürk.
According to media reports, the price for the Digitürk acquisition is expected to be a good one billion US dollars. The pay-TV is particularly interesting because it holds the broadcasting rights to the Turkish Süperlig, Turkey’s highest football league, until summer 2017. With around 3.5 million subscribers, the
Digitürk is the largest pay-TV provider in the country.
This deal goes hand in hand with Turkish club football’s efforts to increase its international importance. Various star footballers are currently flirting with a change to Süperlig, only recently Galatasaray’s signing of Lukas Podolski made the headlines. Potentially at least one can speak of a win-win situation for the business partners: BeIN is becoming an increasingly important brand in Europe, and Turkish football may become even more profitable in the future.