Frank Dunne

This summer’s influx of star footballers to the Saudi Pro League has helped boost its international media rights revenues by 650 per cent, contributing to an annual figure of $100m (€95m) from global med…

The Saudi Pro League is on course to earn about $15m per season for its international media rights for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, taking its total global media rights income to about $100m per season.

Talks were underway this week between CAF and beIN Media Group to find a resolution to their contract dispute, following the former’s decision to cancel its 12-year, $415m deal with the broadcaster.

Experts in the betting and data rights markets point to at least three reasons why Italy’s Serie A can expect a large increase in its income from these rights in the next cycle, with one predicting the value would “at least double”.

Viaplay’s financial crisis may represent a low-cost opportunity to scale quickly for other expansionist media groups, but the costs the company took on to drive its expansion over the last six years could deter many potential buyers.

The Confederation of African Football has opted for a slimmed-down, eight-team version of the African Football League after expected funding from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation failed to materialise.

Fifa is targeting commercial revenues of $1.5bn to $2bn from the expanded, 32-team Club World Cup in 2025, with media rights expected to account for about half of that.

The ITF has appointed Pitch International and Two Circles to handle any as-yet unsold commercial rights to this year’s Davis Cup, as the fallout from the terminated Kosmos deal continues.

The Saudi Pro League has approached a small number of sports marketing agencies and asked them to bid for a one-year contract to distribute its international rights, SportBusiness Media understands.

Lega Serie A’s invitation to tender for domestic live media rights from the 2024-25 season contains multiple innovations as it aims to hit its minimum target of €1bn per season.