Saudi Arabian soccer’s top-flight Saudi Pro League has announced an uplift of 20% to its annual media rights revenue globally over the past two seasons after a large number of new agreements were secured over recent months.
The league will be shown in over 180 global territories across the 2024-25 campaign thanks to a succession of partnerships that have seen media rights revenue grow for the third successive cycle.
On a region-by-region basis, Asia performed strongest with an uplift of 35%, owing largely to new multi-year deals with, Spotv in Southeast Asia, Fancode in India, and Begin in Pakistan.
The Americas too performed well, with values up 32% bolstered by a high-profile multi-year rights deal with Globo in Brazil, and major US network Fox Sports.
Elsewhere, media rights in Africa surged 25%, powered by the league’s ESPN Africa coverage agreement.
Across the 2024-25 campaign, the SPL claims it drew as many as 230 million fans globally, and looking forward, SPL chief executive Omar Mugharbel added: “We are entering a new era of global visibility and fandom for our league.
"By partnering with a mix of world-class broadcasters and innovative digital platforms we are making the Roshn Saudi League accessible to football fans around the world. The long-term nature of these agreements reflects the strong commitment our partners have in our journey and the exciting future of the RSL."
In addition to broadcast agreements, the league has also worked to expand the reach of short-form content, such as highlights, across platforms such as YouTube, OneFootball, and DAZN, where it has established a content hub.
The SPL’s media rights are managed by heavyweight sports marketing agency IMG, which renewed its partnership with the competition for another four-year cycle back in August.
IMG said that since taking over the league’s rights distribution, international coverage of the SPL has grown significantly, culminating in last season’s matches being aired in more than 184 countries on over 43 global platforms across six continents.
During the 2023-24 season, meanwhile, SPL games were covered in 160 countries on more than 40 platforms.
