beIN MEDIA GROUP (“beIN”), the global sports, media, and entertainment group, has been awarded “Best Broadcast/Media Company of the Year 2021” - one of the most prestigious global awards recognising the quality of broadcast and media innovations - by the International Trade Association for the Broadcast and Media Industry (IABM).

beIN won the award for its outstanding coverage of UEFA EURO 2020, as IABM’s website stated: “beIN produced outstanding coverage of UEFA EURO 2020 – the first major live sporting event since the March 2020 worldwide lockdown. It did this despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and achieved almost 1 billion views across the Middle East & North African (MENA) region, combining 15 hours of live daily studio coverage with expert analysis from local and international talent and 18 on-the-ground reporters in 11 European countries. All of this while continuing to broadcast the rest of beIN’s substantial summer of sports coverage – a fantastic achievement, especially considering the enormous difficulties caused by the pandemic”. 

beIN’s successful 2021 summer of sports calendar was full of major tournaments across various regional and international sports, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, COPA America 2021, 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and tennis grand slam tournaments including Wimbledon, Roland-Garros, US Open, and much more. beIN provided unparalleled coverage of these tournaments through a network of 24 channels - offering specially curated content in three languages (Arabic, English and French) to viewers in 24 countries across MENA.

On this celebratory occasion, Mohammad Al Subaie, CEO of beIN MENA, commented: “We are pleased to have received this prestigious industry award, which is testament to beIN’s industry leadership, especially in light of the exceptional circumstances that the world has been through of late”.

Al Subaie added: “Through its efficient operations and innovations, beIN has managed to tackle the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reigniting the passion for football and sports for millions of viewers across MENA. The successful coverage of UEFA EURO 2020, and other global and continental tournaments, reinforces our readiness to broadcast the biggest and most prestigious sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM”.

UEFA EURO 2020 saw record breaking viewership rates in MENA, with the average number of views for each match on beIN channels reaching approximately 18.8 million, while the number of views of the final Italy vs. England match exceeding the 64 million mark. France, Italy, Germany, and Portugal all saw an average 30 million+ views for their matches.