International broadcast heavyweight BeIN Sports - through its Turkish arm Digiturk - has secured full domestic rights to the next three seasons of action from Turkish soccer’s Süper Lig.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) unveiled BeIN (the incumbent rights-holder) as the chosen broadcast partner for all action from the 20-team league and from the second-tier First Lig through 2026-27 over the weekend, after calling for bids to be resubmitted late last week.
BeIN will pay $218.4 million including VAT for package E (broadcasting rights to all games) of the tender, the TFF has said. The legal process through which BeIN retains its status as the domestic home of the Turkish top tier will be completed by March 11.
Youssef Al-Obaidly, chief executive at BeIN Media Group and of Digiturk, said: “We are delighted to have won all local and international broadcasting rights to the Super League and TFF 1st League by submitting the highest bid in the tender process. We remain fully committed to offering the highest quality content to sports fans and will continue our efforts to strengthen the position of Turkish football in the global market.
“We believe in Turkish football – it is a rising star in the footballing ecosystem - and as its biggest investor, we are delighted to help support its strategy and goals.”
However, Saran Media Group, which matched BeIN by submitting an initial bid before the first tender was abruptly called off late last week, has said it will now assess options going forward.
In a statement, Saran has said: “We react with great sadness and surprise to the outcome of the TFF Super League and First League broadcast rights tender, which is closely followed by the public. Unfortunately, a fair, competitive, and open broadcasting rights tender could not be held again, just like two years ago.”
It is understood that Saran believes it had previously been given assurances by the TFF that BeIN would not be allowed to take part in this tender process, and that it feels that the pledge by the TFF has been broken.
Saran also said that BeIN “has made a habit of not making offers in accordance with the specifications.”
BeIN, through this agreement, extends a domestic broadcast relationship with the TFF that has been in place since 2016.
Digiturk currently holds both domestic and international broadcast rights to the Süper Lig, in deals that expire at the end of the ongoing 2023-24 season. This deal, however, was only reached after a tempestuous and lengthy tender process which almost led to a serious breakdown in relations between BeIN and the TFF.
The tough negotiations around the last deal started when BeIN offered a lower fee for the rights due to its unhappiness with the level of digital piracy within Turkey, which it said it had been fighting itself.
The broadcaster was also subjected to an anti-BeIN campaign by Fenerbahce fans over claims it was manipulating VAR decisions and choosing camera angles of highlights that showed them in an unfavorable light. As a result, the team doctored BeIN’s logo to read ‘beFAIR’ on their pitchside advertising boards and team apparel.
The TFF launched its original tender for the next cycle at the start of 2024, with a deadline for bids of February 14, covering domestic live rights to all league fixtures between 2024-25 and 2026-27, as well as international broadcast rights, and international betting data rights.
In late January, meanwhile, Turkish public-service broadcaster TRT snapped up free-to-air rights for the various UEFA pan-European soccer competitions.
TRT struck an exclusive deal covering the top-tier UEFA Champions League (UCL), second-tier Europa League, and third-tier Europa Conference League (to be renamed the Conference League from 2024-25) for the 2024-27 cycle.
