The Saudi Pro League (SPL) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) have developed a five-year production partnership with the global sports, fashion, events, and media giant, IMG.
The partnership has been inked for the SPL, King’s Cup, and Saudi Super Cup, starting from the 2024–25 season.
The current campaign will be an important turning point for the SPL and SAFF, as IMG adopts the role of broadcast producer for the Saudi top-flight football, King’s Cup, and Saudi Super Cup. The long-term agreement will assure top-tier production quality, creativity, and consistency across all SPL, Saudi Super Cup, and King’s Cup games.
This will allow commercial partners to provide deeper insights, in addition to more compelling and thrilling tales, improving the viewing experience for fans across the world and forging a stronger relationship with the league.
As part of the production cooperation, SPL and SAFF will serve as host broadcasters for the King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup. This agreement guarantees that all events are held to the same high production quality and distribution standards, boosting the viewing experience for fans domestically and worldwide.
IMG will also aid SPL and SAFF to develop new remote production tools, allowing prominent producers to monitor matches across different locations on the same day.
Omar Mugharbel, CEO of the Saudi Pro League, said, “Our new production partnership marks a significant step forward for the SPL as we continue our transformation and growth on and off the pitch. Our collaboration with IMG reflects our commitment to bring world-class production standards to Saudi football with the league the central host producer. By leveraging the expertise of IMG and maintaining strong partnerships with local and regional distributors, the SPL is poised to deliver an unparalleled football viewing experience to fans around the world through technology, innovation and talent.”
Barney Francis, EVP of Studios at IMG, said, “Saudi Pro League is one of the most exciting and fastest-growing leagues in global football, with fans around the world now tuning in to watch thrilling action between some of the game’s biggest stars. In today’s battle for attention, it’s critical for rightsholders to take control of their narrative and innovate. We are excited to help SPL take its content offering and storytelling to the next level for viewers and broadcasters, and to provide opportunities for local broadcast and production talent to be part of the journey.”
IMG creates programming for some of the world’s most prestigious leagues, notably the Premier League (PL), Major League Soccer (MLS) on Apple TV, CBS‘ UEFA Champions League and Europa League coverage, and more. The corporation’s cutting-edge studio facilities in Stockley Park in London constitute one of Europe’s best-connected broadcast hubs, powered by 100% renewable energy and broadcasting over 35,000 hours of content each year.
Along with the new production association, IMG, which inked a two-year deal at the beginning of the 2023–24 season, will continue to sell the SPL’s media rights globally for the 2024–25 season. SPL matches were broadcast on more than 40 worldwide networks in over 160 nations in six continents during the previous season.