beIN Media to make Women’s Champions League available for free

beIN Media Group is to make coverage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League available as a free-to-air broadcast across all of beIN’s 24 markets in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), both on linear TV and via streaming. 

beIN said its announcement, made on International Women’s Day, was the latest in a number of measures to boost exposure and interest in historically non-mainstream sports, through its beInspired initiative.

It is the second year that beIN is broadcasting the Women’s championship on free-to-air social channels, with the Paris Saint-Germain Feminine knock-out matches in the UWCL also airing on Facebook and on the PSG Feminine website in May 2021. This initiative in 2021 saw over 200,000 viewers watch the PSG Feminine matches, with approximately a third visiting the beIN Facebook page for the first time.

In 2019, beIN broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 41 countries around the world – more countries than any other broadcaster.

beIN will air UWCL quarter-final matches on the beIN Sports free-to-air linear channel, as well as on its YouTube channel in MENA. The remaining matches of the tournament will also be broadcast in the same way through the second quarter of the year, with the final being aired on May 22.

Yousef Al-Obaidly, Group CEO of beIN Media Group said: “beIN’s commitment to women’s sport is proven not only by the unparalleled range of women’s sports rights that we hold, but also how we promote those rights in a way that gives female talent maximum exposure. We are delighted to showcase the UEFA Women’s Champions League to established and new fans in the MENA region on our free-to-air beIN Sports linear channel and also online. We’re also pleased to make this announcement on International Women’s Day as part of our beInspired initiative, which is singularly-focused on giving female athletes and talent – both on-screen and off-screen – elevated recognition on the global stage.”