Al Jazeera’s sports arm set for Setanta takeover, amping up pressure on Fox Sports

Qatari media company Al Jazeera has confirmed it is in the process of buying out the Australian operation of Irish pay-TV sports broadcaster Setanta, in a move which is set to bring increased competition for Fox Sports.

Last December Mumbrella revealed there had been talks between officials from Setanta and BeIN, the sports broadcasting arm of Al Jazeera, and overnight the  two companies confirmed the deal, and are awaiting approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board in Australia.

BeIN already has a presence in several markets around the world, including Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong in south east Asia, and holds the rights to several major sporting codes including the English Premier League, currently the jewel in the crown of Fox Sports’ exclusive broadcast rights, which will come up for grabs for broadcasters after next season for August 2016.

Yousef Al-Obaidli, deputy CEO of BeIN, said: “We are very happy to take our BeIN Sports brand to yet another admirable market. Australians are very passionate about sports and we are proud to fulfil this passion and provide them with a unique experience.”