Soccer’s top-flight Saudi Pro League has further expanded its global coverage by securing Begin, the United Arab Emirates-based OTT streaming platform, as its exclusive broadcast partner in Pakistan.
The three-year deal will see Begin air all SPL matches live in Pakistan through the 2027-28 campaign as the broadcaster looks to build its live sports content.
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Begin chief executive Jonathan Mark said: “We are proud to bring the Roshn Saudi League to Pakistan under a long-term agreement.
“The league has become one of the most exciting competitions in world football, attracting global superstars and capturing the imagination of fans everywhere.
“By securing these rights, Begin is ensuring that football lovers in Pakistan have reliable, high-quality access to world-class football, reinforcing our position as the leading destination for the sport in the country.”
The broadcaster added that the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and other international superstars to the SPL has accelerated the league’s popularity in the country.
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By GlobalDataBegin launched in June 2024, initially securing licensing rights for non-sports entertainment content from the NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures Entertainment media giants.
Its first major sports rights splash came last July, when it picked up exclusive rights in Pakistan to Spanish soccer’s top-tier LaLiga, before securing the Pakistani streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) rights to broadcast English soccer’s elite tier Premier League (EPL) for 2024-25.
In October, it agreed a four-year broadcast deal with US women’s golf's LPGA, before securing rights to Twenty20 cricket’s Pakistan Super League for the 2025 season.
SPL, meanwhile, has continued to boost its international coverage by consolidating its broadcast partnerships as its 2025-26 season gets underway, with sports marketing agency IMG renewing its agreement to distribute worldwide media rights to SPL for another four years.
IMG’s deal builds on the pair’s original agreement, covering the 2023-24 and 2024-25 SPL seasons, and will see IMG continue to market and sell the league’s rights globally through the 2028-29 campaign.
Last week, the SPL vastly expanded its reach in the subcontinent through a four-year deal with Indian streaming service FanCode, which also covered Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, bringing a strong slate of Ronaldo-centric coverage to the region, and with this Begin deal, the league strengthens its grip on the region.
Earlier this week, Strike TV, the Slovak combat sport-focused channel, added the SPL to its live offering in Slovakia and the Czech Republic for the 2025-26 season.
Other deals recently secured by IMG include ESPN (Africa), DAZN (DACH and France), Movistar (Spain), Fox Sports (USA, Mexico, LATAM, the Caribbean, and Central America), Globo (Brazil), Sportitalia (Italy), ComoTV (Italy), and French content creator Zack Nani (France).
Last month, SporTV, the Brazilian pay-television operator owned by commercial broadcasting giant Globo, acquired the broadcast rights to the SPL ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, which started on August 28.
