German soccer’s Bundesliga has continued to add new rights deals ahead of its 2025-26 season, with MBC Group, the Saudi-owned free-to-air broadcaster, becoming its latest media partner in the Middle East and North Africa.
The three-year agreement will see all matches aired on the streaming platform Shahid, while three matches per week will be broadcast on the FTA channel, MBC Action.
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The opening match tonight between reigning champions Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, meanwhile, will be shown on the broadcaster’s flagship MBC1 channel.
The new deal includes a joint marketing strategy to promote the Bundesliga in the region as the league looks to accelerate its global footprint.
Bundesliga rights were previously held in the MENA region by major pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports.
Bundesliga International chief executive, Peer Naubert, said: “As one of the fastest growing regions for football fandom, and in particular within the female demographic, the Middle East and North Africa is central to our global growth strategy, and our partnership is built on a 360-degree, localised approach that will ensure we are telling the stories that matter in a relevant and engaging way.
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By GlobalData“From the world-class product on the field, to our unique and unrivalled clubs and fans, MBC’s phenomenal reach and position as a media and entertainment superpower will ensure that together we deliver the best of the Bundesliga day-in and day-out.”
MBC Group succeeds pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports, which held exclusive rights for the Bundesliga in the region from 2022-23 to 2024-25. That deal was struck after a two-year absence of the top-tier German league in the region.
Mike Sneesby, MBC Group’s chief executive, said: “Our partnership will extend beyond broadcasting rights to also include marketing and promotion, as well as exchanging comprehensive technical expertise, and much more.
“This new agreement is part of our strategic objective to bring the best international sports to millions of fans across the Arab world and the entire region and will allow them to enjoy all the magic of German football.”
The agreement comes as the Bundesliga enters its next domestic rights cycle for the 2025-26 to 2028-29 seasons. Live rights, along with highlight and short clips, are being split between pay-TV heavyweight Sky Deutschland and the DAZN sports streaming service in a deal worth a total $1.17 billion per campaign.
This deal is the latest in a string of media rights agreements announced by the Bundesliga ahead of its 2025-26 season.
Earlier this week, the league unveiled a new broadcast mix for the UK and Ireland, including a blend of linear, pay-TV, OTT, and free-to-air distribution.
As well as incumbent pay-TV heavyweight Sky Sports, which retains the exclusive rights to the top match per game-week each Saturday at 5.30pm BST, Amazon-owned Prime Video has acquired rights to every Sunday game on a pay-per-view basis.
Every Friday night Bundesliga game, meanwhile, will be streamed on the BBC iPlayer streaming service and the BBC Sport digital platform, with FTA distribution for that game supplemented by significant coverage on YouTube via channels including The Overlap and That’s Football.
The league also boosted its coverage in Japan with DAZN snapping up exclusive rights for the next three seasons, while sports streaming platform Abemba has acquired FTA rights in the country for the 2025-26 campaign.
The Bundesliga also concluded other rights deals in the Asian market with state-owned media and telecoms heavyweight Viettel in Vietnam and free-to-air channel PPTV in Thailand.
Earlier in the week, the league announced a four-year extension with United Media, the Southeast Europe-based media company, across nine territories, while it also agreed an extension in Italy with pay-TV heavyweight Sky Italia earlier this month.
