Saudi Arabia
Saudi Pro League nets more distribution in Europe ahead of Ronaldo debut
The Saudi Professional League and its appointed IMG agency have finalised a flurry of media rights deals ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut in the competition.
Social and streaming platforms offer PPV coverage of PSG v Riyadh All-Star XI
Douyin, Facebook, OneFootball, PSG TV, Twitch and YouTube will carry coverage of today's (Thursday's) exhibition match in Saudi Arabia between Paris Saint-Germain and Riyadh All-Star XI, that will see…
Saudis blocked from watching World Cup on BeIN’s new streaming platform
TOD, the official streaming platform of the Fifa World Cup in Saudi Arabia, and all the Middle East and North Africa, has been blocked in Saudi Arabia from the beginning of this year’s tournament in Q…
LIV Golf president: ‘We need to commercialize the product’
LIV Golf president Atul Khosla has made it clear that the primary goals of the Saudi-backed breakaway series in 2023 are to land "milestone" sponsorship and television rights deals to begin commercializing…
SSC acquires Saudi Professional League rights in nine-figure deal
Saudi Sports Company (SSC), the state-controlled sports media company, has acquired domestic broadcast rights to the Saudi Professional League (SPL), Saudi Arabia’s King’s Cup and the Saudi Super Cup in …
Whisper to produce Usyk v Joshua II, fight free to watch in Ukraine
UK-based sports production company Whisper has been appointed by Saudi promoter Skill Challenge Entertainment to deliver the world feed host broadcast of the heavyweight boxing fight between Oleksandr…
Bids, bailouts and plots form backdrop of Serie A’s YouTube experiment
Italy’s Serie A will continue to make its matches available for free on YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, despite receiving bids from broadcasters in the region.
HBA Media adds seven new broadcasters for Saudi Cup
The HBA Media agency has secured seven new broadcast rights-holders for the Saudi Cup, as it expands coverage of the annual horse racing fixture for the third consecutive year
Falling Japanese market drags down AFC global rights value
A large decrease in Japan has dragged down the global value of Asian Football Confederation media rights by at least 13 per cent in the 2021-24 cycle.
Court rejects beIN’s Selevision Saudi counterclaim but flags piracy link
London’s High Court of Justice has rejected a counterclaim made by pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group against Selevision Saudi, but highlighted evidence that raises a “serious issue” over the S…
Middle East thaw resets market but glory days unlikely to return
Diplomatic processes put in place in 2021 to heal the rift between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have brought an end to the four-and-half-year dispute, sparking hope that the region’s sports broadcasting market will soon revert to normality.
BeIN: Cyber attacks against Al-Khelaïfi and others a ‘daily reality’
Pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group has confirmed its chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, and other officials have been the subject of “malicious hacks and threats”.
Saudi Sports Company acquires AFC media rights
Saudi Arabian state-owned media company Saudi Sports Company has acquired media rights for Asian Football Confederation competitions in the 2021-24 cycle
ITV secures future free-to-air Extreme E exclusivity, KSA lands Saudi rights
UK free-to-air network ITV has become the latest broadcaster to agree a rights deal for Extreme E, the new electric off-road racing series
IOC calls on US to keep Saudi Arabia on watchlist and ‘consider further steps’
The International Olympic Committee has flagged up its concerns over Saudi Arabia’s efforts to tackle piracy, telling the United States Trade Representative office, that it is “extremely concerned” about…
SIS to distribute Saudi Cup rights to bookmakers worldwide
SIS, a provider of end-to-end products and services to the betting and broadcast industries, has agreed a two-year deal to distribute live broadcast pictures and data to horse racing’s Saudi Cup.
BeIN ‘hopeful’ over Saudi return after end to blockade
Pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group has said it has received no “official communication” from Saudi Arabia, amid some reports that the beIN Sports channels have returned to the air in the country.