Comcast joins DirecTV and DISH and agrees to carry new beIN Sport network

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The new beIN Sport network has reached an agreement with Comcast Corp. to be carried on its Xfinity TV.

Owned by the Al-Jazeera Sport Media Network, beIN Sport will be carried in English on the Xfinity TV Sports Entertainment Package and in Spanish on the Xfinity TV MultiLatino Package. It also will be available to Comcast customers online and some content will be shown on Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand.

Launched last week, beIN Sport initially was carried only by DirecTV and the DISH Network, which combine with Comcast to create a total potential universe of 54 million homes. However, the number of households receiving the tier beIN is on is only a fraction of that.

Of the 34 million homes that receive DirecTV and DISH, about 8 million get the tier showing beIN. Network spokesman Mike Kilroy said the figure for Comcast was not available.

The new network has rights to Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue 1 and England’s second-tier League Championship. It also has rights to U.S. road qualifiers in World Cup qualifying, except for the potential game at Mexico in next year’s regional finals.