Live tennis stream service lets fans watch Wimbledon final online illegally, fuelling beoutq piracy row

A pirate feed showing the 2018 Wimbledon final between Anderson and Djokovic is 'multi-million dollar operation'

A live stream service hosting a free feed of the Wimbledon final between Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson has prompted the governing bodies of world tennis to wade into an major dispute about the illegal broadcasting of international sporting events.

The Men's Singles final – set to start at 2pm BST on Sunday, 15 July, on Wimbledon Centre Court – will be the latest match of the tournament to be illegally streamed through the beoutQ piracy service.

The match will be broadcast in the UK on the BBC, and through ESPN in the US, with three-time champion Djokovic looking to reclaim the title.

But before the tournament even began, tennis authorities warned of the potential damage caused by beoutQ stealing signal from legitimate broadcasters and streaming it illegally.

“Wimbledon is a brand beloved by millions and the protection of our copyright is of the utmost importance to us," Richard Lewis, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club said in a statement.

The issue largely concerns the beIN Media Group, which holds the exclusive rights for major tennis tournaments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

BeIN has described the pirate channel as a multi-million dollar operation that stems from a diplomatic crisis in the Middle East.

“The pirate channel beoutQ is not a small outfit operating out of someone’s bedroom. This is piracy on a massive commercial scale with multimillion dollar funding underpinning,” said Tom Keaveny, managing director of the media organisation.

(PA (PA)

Other tennis bodies to condemn beoutQ include the ATP World Tour, ATP Media, the Women’s Tennis Association, the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the French Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia.

“BeIN Media Group is a key strategic partner of the USTA and we are truly disappointed by the flagrant and illegal piracy of our content taking place in Saudi Arabia and across the region through beoutQ and Arabsat," said Katrina Adams, chairman of the board and president of the USTA.

"This is highly damaging for tennis and to the USTA’s mission of supporting the growth of tennis. We strongly oppose audiovisual fraud in all its forms and stand united with beIN in our desire to fight the harmful practices of illegal streaming and copyright infringement.”

Craig Tiley, CEO and tournament director of Tennis Australia (TA) added: “Piracy is a major concern to all global rights holders, including Tennis Australia, because it risks corroding the value of the broadcast rights that we rely upon to fund our tournaments and grass roots initiatives designed to increase participation.

"BeIN Media Group is our rightful broadcast partner and the audacious piracy taking place in Saudi Arabia is setting an incredibly dangerous precedent. We will be providing all our support to beIN and relevant authorities as further attempts are made to stop beoutQ from operating.”

Other sporting events to be caught up in the piracy dispute include Formula One and the Fifa 2018 World Cup.