DUBAI, June 10 (Reuters) – Qatar’s BeIN Media Group on Thursday said it had retained exclusive television rights to broadcast the Champions League, Europa League and other UEFA competitions across the Middle East and North Africa for a further three years.

BeIN would also continue to broadcast the UEFA Europa Conference League and had won the rights to show the UEFA Women’s Champions League in Arabic, English and French in 24 countries across the region, it said in a statement.

The value of the contract, which runs until 2024, was not given. Bloomberg reported BeIN had paid about $600 million for the rights, citing a source it did not identify.

That was around 25% less than compared to its last broadcast deal for the UEFA tournaments, Bloomberg cited the source as saying this was due to being unable to broadcast in Saudi Arabia.

BeIN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BeIN was blocked in Saudi Arabia when the kingdom and some allies cut ties with Qatar in 2017 over accusations Doha supported terrorism, a charge Qatar has denied.

Saudi Arabia and its allies agreed with Qatar in January this year to end the dispute. (Writing by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Jason Neely)

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