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Newcastle United: Premier League chief Richard Masters says ‘beoutQ is now off the air’ amid takeover
Premier League chief Richard Masters has said that ‘beoutQ is now off the air’ as he was asked plenty of questions from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) about the proposed takeover of Newcastle United.
The CEO of the league (via Miles Starforth) gave the update on the pirate satellite TV channel following the report from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which found that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) had been streaming and broadcasting games from England’s highest division illegally through the television station.
Should Newcastle be concerned about the WTO report with regards to the takeover?
Yes
No
This was found to break the country’s own international laws as Qatar, who accused the Saudis of running beoutQ, are the only area in the Middle East to hold the rights to show live Premier League matches.
Masters added that he hopes the Saudis clamp down on their piracy issues once and for all after the findings, and he wants the Owners’ and Directors’ Test (ODT) set out by the league to be concluded “shortly”.
Richard Masters on TV piracy: 'BeoutQ is now off the air, and what we want, off the back of the WTO report, is for Saudi Arabia to respond positively the situation and to allow sports rights-holders to take their rights.' #nufc
— Miles Starforth (@milesstarforth) June 30, 2020
Indeed, the Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) and his country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) are heading the prospective £300m deal with Mike Ashley and are set to own 80% of the Tyneside club if the bid is eventually approved by the Premier League.
Neither MbS nor the PIF were found to be involved in the running of beoutQ in the WTO report and Masters has suggested that if KSA clamps down on its piracy issues, then a possible deal could be struck after all, so long that the would-be owners can clear the remaining obstacles that they face in the whole saga.
Geordies, will the buying side pass the ODT? Comment below with your views!
