beIN Locks Up Roland-Garros Rights Across MENA Through 2031
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The French Tennis Federation has extended beIN Media Group's exclusive broadcast rights to Roland-Garros through 2031, keeping the clay-court Grand Slam on the Doha-based group's platforms across 34 territories - including a swathe of North and East Africa - for a further five editions from 2027.
The renewal deepens a partnership that stretches back nearly two decades and hands beIN continued control of a marquee live-sports property at a moment when the economics of premium rights are tightening across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. The tournament will run on the flagship beIN SPORTS network and on the group's streaming services, TOD by beIN in MENA and beIN SPORTS CONNECT in Asia.
For African broadcasters and rights buyers, the deal underlines how firmly beIN's grip on top-tier events extends into the continent's northern and Horn markets. Of the 34 territories covered, roughly a third sit in Africa - Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Tunisia - reinforcing the reality that much of Africa's access to global sport is still routed through Gulf-based media groups rather than domestic or pan-African platforms.
"Their continued commitment and the quality of their coverage have strengthened the tournament's visibility across the MENA and Asia regions," FFT Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Morel said, adding that the federation looked forward to building on the collaboration.
beIN Chief Sports Officer Richard Verow framed the extension as a bet on tennis's growth. The group is committed to delivering premium coverage of the Grand Slam "as the sport continues to grow in popularity," he said, pointing to sustained subscriber demand for the year's defining clay-court moments.
The agreement is exclusive across most of the footprint but runs on a non-exclusive basis in Chad, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan - the same lower-monetization markets where rights holders typically loosen exclusivity rather than leave audiences dark.
The full MENA slate covers Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen. In Asia, beIN retains Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
