Corporate Responsibility


beINSPIRED

Giving a global platform to under-represented sports and talent

beIN MEDIA GROUP believes in the power and responsibility of broadcasters to inspire the next generation of athletes and fans – regardless of gender, race or background – to find new heroes and to participate in sport.

Our beINSPIRED project does this by giving a global platform to events and talent that haven’t, historically, been given the exposure they deserve.

Our objectives are:

  1. Equal opportunities for women on and off the pitch.
  2. Inspire all women and girls to be active participants in sport and sport-related activities.
  3. Increasing women’s participation in sport from grass roots to elite level.
  4. Raise profile of women’s sport and its visibility in the media to the same standard as men’s.

Since launching beINSPIRED in 2019, beIN MEDIA GROUP has held a number of events and initiatives that have particularly focused on shining a spotlight on women in sport. beIN SPORTS broadcasts more women’s sport than any other global broadcaster, so it’s fitting –that we drive participation in this area:

  • The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup saw a record-breaking cumulative viewership of 93.5 million across beIN SPORTS channels, with all 64 matches being aired on the free-to-air-channel in MENA.
  • During the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup – which beIN distributed across more countries than any other broadcaster – beIN SPORTS produced a daily digital show with Paris Saint-Germain footballer and inspirational figure Nadia Nadim who provided a unique insider’s view of the tournament and hosted a number of talented female athletes who shared their own experiences in the industry.
  • On a regular basis, we try to provoke robust conversations around the unique challenges faced by women working in sport, both on- and off- screen. To that end, beIN hosted an executive roundtable at Wembley Stadium (July 2019), centred around the future of women’s football and how to build on the World Cup successes. We have also hosted other thought leadership events for women working in the industry, including Women@Sportel in Monaco (October 2019) and the Women in Sport Networking Breakfast Paris on the morning of the NBA Paris Game (January 2020).
  • While sporting events were on pause in May 2020 due to Covid-19, we launched the beINSPIRED podcast celebrating trailblazing female athletes, all of whom have paved the way for present and future female athletes to keep breaking barriers. Hosted by beIN SPORTS Senior Correspondent and Football Writers’ Association Chair Carrie Brown, the six-part podcast series delves into the inspiring stories of female athletes from across the world, such as Paris Saint-Germain’s Nadia Nadim; Chelsea FC captain and Olympic silver-medallist Magdalena Eriksson; and Olympic tennis gold medallist Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who address the various challenges they have encountered throughout their successful careers, while giving tips to listeners on how they have achieved exceptional sporting results against adversity.
  • In honour of International Women’s Day 2020, we planned and curated a historic photography exhibition in the prestigious grounds of UK Parliament to celebrate female athletes, icons and aspiring fans. From the ordinary to the extraordinary, the planned gallery captured the stimulating role that female sport plays across society, from young girls playing football in parks in Doha to the trailblazing Maud Watson winning the first Ladies’ Singles Championship at Wimbledon in 1884; the captivating images were donated to beIN by organisations and people from across world sport. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that the gallery opening was postponed on the morning of the launch, but we look forward to displaying the exhibition – entitled ‘The Power of Women in Sport’ – in 2021.
  • During the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, beIN entered into a strategic partnership with Generation Amazing, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ legacy programme, which uses the power of football to educate and empower young people around the world (including importantly, women and girls).

We look forward to building on the success of the beINSPIRED initiative over the months to come, and inspiring all athletes and fans – regardless of gender, race or background – to find new heroes and participate in sport.

 

beIN ACADEMY

An educational programme designed to inspire the next generation into broadcasting

As one of the world’s leading independent media groups, beIN knows that what happens behind the camera is as important as what happens in front of it. That is why we launched the beIN ACADEMY – a dedicated not-for-profit programme designed to give the next generation of aspiring students a unique opportunity to learn about a career in broadcasting and media.

The first beIN ACADEMY launched in 2018 in Turkey in partnership with Anadolu University, with many more Academies planned across beIN’s network of 43 countries. The essence of the programme is to provide a launch pad for young talent who wish to specialise in media – particularly audiovisual production – offering them hands-on experience in different aspects of the sports, entertainment, media and broadcasting industry. beIN’s ambition is not only to inspire and support students into the world of work, but also to identify the best talent and to safeguard the future of the broadcasting industry by providing the very best possible training.

Through tailored workshops on production, distribution, live commentary, presentation, media rights acquisition and the technical side of broadcasting, together with the opportunity to use cutting-edge digital technology across the global network of beIN studios, beIN ACADEMY students gain unique insights into what it is really like to work in our industry and to run a media group, beyond what is simply set out in textbooks. Upon graduation, students also receive an official certification which recognises their effort, skill and learnings.

The inaugural intake of students graduated from the beIN ACADEMY in June 2019.

 

 

UN and Humanitarian partnerships

Supporting the WHO, GHAEA and others on public good projects

beIN MEDIA GROUP is immensely proud to support various agencies of the United Nations (UN) on a range of global, regional and local humanitarian and public policy projects. As a Group, we strive to place the development of society and international cooperation at the forefront of our business activities.

Most recently in 2020, our support has been focused urgently on helping the World Health Organization (WHO) in its global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we are also proud partners of other UN agencies and affiliates – including the Global Humanitarian Action Executive Alliance (GHAEA) – which seeks to harmonize relations between governments, businesses and society-at-large; all for the greater good.

As a global sports, entertainment and media group, we are in a unique position to connect, engage, educate and enthuse people across countries, cultures and languages all around the world; and this is a responsibility that drives our partnerships with the UN and others.

 

 

 

  • World Health Organization (WHO)
  • beIN’s partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) has enabled us to directly support the agency since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, using beIN’s network of 43 countries in five continents to broadcast critical, reliable and engaging WHO messages around the world, reaching millions of people in the Arabic, French, English and Spanish speaking world, as well as across Asia-Pacific.

    In particular, beIN has supported the WHO in tackling disinformation about COVID-19; while also helping communicate the WHO’s positive campaigns, including ‘#HealthyAtHome’ and the #SafeHandsChallenge. A large part of this work is done through inspiring video content created by beIN employees and supported by influential beIN, MIRAMAX and PSG talent across the globe.

     

     

    A highlight for beIN viewers – and our company – in the summer of 2020 was the broadcast of the historic ‘One World: Together at Home’ virtual concert featuring Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, David Beckham, Elton John and many others; a first of its kind event. The show was a seminal moment that displayed unity among all people affected by COVID-19, whilst celebrating and supporting brave healthcare workers doing life-saving work on the front lines. Importantly, it raised $127.9 million to help combat COVID-19. beIN broadcast the historic event across 43 countries.

     

     

    beIN also offers ongoing creative and events support to the WHO. For example, during the Roland-Garros French Open tennis tournament in October 2020, beIN supported The WHO Foundation by displaying a QR code on screens across the Middle East and North Africa so that subscribers could donate to the WHO directly while watching the event. All donations made during the tournament were used to support communities worldwide to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

     

     

     

  • Global Humanitarian Action Executive Alliance (GHAEA)
  • beIN MEDIA GROUP has been a proud member of the Global Humanitarian Action Executive Alliance (GHAEA) since the start of 2020. GHAEA is a collection of business leaders who combine their expertise and innovative skills to respond effectively to humanitarian emergencies.

    GHAEA works in support of all the agencies of the United Nations including the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR and the World Food Programme, allowing it to collate cross-sector business approaches to solve world issues, and to innovate rapidly in areas of most need.

    beIN’s membership of GHAEA means that our business perspective and experience will be used to help inform future and existing partnerships that support an effective response to global humanitarian crises and help deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. You can read more about the initiative here: www.ghaea.one/post/privatesectorresponsibility.

     

  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
  • The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations created to promote the protection of intellectual property and, in turn, to encourage creative activity all around the world. As one of the largest independent media companies – broadcasting across 43 territories and the owner of major content creators such as MIRAMAX film studio and DIGITURK – beIN places the protection of intellectual property at the heart of everything we do.

    As such, we constantly seek to improve the legislative framework around the protection of intellectual property; lobbying, collaborating and partnering with organizations such as WIPO, the European Commission, major national governments (such as the US and UK Governments) and others to ensure original content is protected, and to help ensure the creative industries to flourish. Without such dedication to the protection of intellectual property, the sports and entertainment industries are under great threat, which is why beIN MEDIA GROUP is committed to working with entities, such as WIPO, to ensure the protection of its IP.