beIN MEDIA GROUP Joins Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment

The addition of beIN marks ACE’s newly expanded focus on the growing threat that large-scale piracy operations pose to live sports broadcasters. According to a recent study from Synamedia/Ampere1, addressing global sports piracy could amount to an additional $28 billion of annual revenue for the industry. According to the study, 52 percent of sports fans watching pirate streams are paying for at least some of their illegal access, and 74 percent of those currently using illegal streaming services might be willing to pay to switch to legitimate providers. 

ACE’s comprehensive approach to reducing piracy includes criminal referrals, litigation, and direct communications among other tactics positions ACE and its partners to move swiftly into reducing piracy of live sports broadcasts globally. beIN is the 38th company to join ACE and is the coalition’s first sports broadcaster; more sports leagues are expected to join in the coming months.

“We are delighted to be entering this partnership with ACE and foresee benefits from working with them to tackle piracy,” said Cameron Andrews, Legal Director for Anti-Piracy, beIN MEDIA GROUP. “Piracy is a truly global problem that threatens the full range of international and local movies and entertainment, as well as sport and live content. Threats to intellectual property rights is a major problem in many of the markets in which beIN operates, so we will be working closely with ACE to investigate and bring legal enforcement actions against the major pirates who are seriously threatening continued investment in the world-class sports and entertainment services and productions that consumers deserve.” 

Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Content Protection for the