Indian sports-focused OTT streaming service FanCode has secured the rights in the country to the Saudi Pro League (SPL) soccer top-flight in a multi-year deal.
FanCode will serve as the exclusive home of the league in India, as well as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, in a four-year deal that will run through the 2028-29 campaign.
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The deal is centered around the presence of Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo, currently of Al-Nassr, and FanCode will broadcast at least one Al-Nassr game per week throughout the deal, as part of an overall load of over 150 SPL fixtures each season.
This partnership will also include the season-opening Saudi Super Cup tournament and the Saudi King's Cup knockout competition.
The partnership will begin immediately with tonight's matchup between Al Nassr and Al-Taawoun, followed by the later clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Riyadh.
FanCode also holds the streaming rights for the Asian Football Confederation’s top-line continental club tournaments, including the AFC Champions League Elite (in which many Saudi clubs compete), AFC Champions League Two, and AFC Challenge League.
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By GlobalDataOutside of Asian soccer, FanCode recently tied up a five-year deal for the rights to Spain’s top-flight LaLiga, and will also showcase England’s EFL Cup, among others.
The SPL has further expanded its distribution across Asia with a new partnership with SPOTV, the pan-regional sports streaming service.
SPOTV will showcase three matches per gameweek from the league’s most high-profile clubs, as well as highlights packages and other coverage, across its linear TV channels and the SPOTV Now OTT streaming service.
Owned by South Korean broadcaster Eclat Media Group, SPOTV Now recently expanded its footprint across Asia, entering seven new markets to grow its overall reach to 15 territories.
Although the SPL rights don’t span all of SPOTV’s markets, the streamer will show the league in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the SPL has also struck a commercial partnership deal with Saudi Arabian car dealership Abdul Latif Jameel Motors.
Abdul Latif Jameel Motors, an authorized distributor of Toyota vehicles, becomes a platinum-tier sponsor of the SPL, the highest tier of sponsorship below the role of title sponsor (currently real estate firm Roshn).
Additionally, Toyota will now become the official car of the SPL, and the league will collaborate with the car dealer on community-focused grassroots initiatives.
The other SPL platinum partners are the Visit Saudi tourist board, Saudi state mining company Maaden, and banking firm Banque Saudi Fransi.
