Spanish soccer’s top-flight competition, LaLiga, has entered into a new long-term exclusive media rights deal with the emerging OTT streaming service, Begin. This agreement will see Begin cover the Spanish top-flight for five seasons in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The five-year contract will commence with the 2025-26 campaign and continue through to the 2029-30 season. Under this agreement, Begin will broadcast every fixture from both the top-tier LaLiga and second-tier LaLiga2 tournaments. From 2026-27 onward, this broadcast partnership is set to extend to Sri Lanka as well as Begin expands its profile in South Asia.
From Galaxy Racer to Begin
Begin replaces Dubai-based Galaxy Racer which parted ways with LaLiga only one year into their six-year partnership due to distribution-related issues. UAE-based Begin then picked up these associated rights. One of the appealing factors of choosing Begin as a rightsholder is its aim of combating video piracy - an issue that is rampant in markets such as Pakistan.
In an exclusive interview with Sportcal in 2024, Mark (last name not provided) stated that tackling piracy was crucial for growing their subscriber base exponentially. He noted that there had been a gap in the Pakistani market after previous sublicensees backed out - a gap they now intend to exploit along with cracking down on piracy.
Begin chief executive, Jonathan Mark, said:
“By providing a legal, scalable, and monetizable platform for premium leagues, we’re enabling rights holders, content producers, and brands to engage fans with confidence and scale.
“Our collaboration lays the groundwork for a structured, future-facing ecosystem that delivers secure and commercially viable sports content, aligned with Begin’s long-term ambition to support outreach programs, develop local talent, and help and uplift a sustainable football talent pool across the region.”
Mark emphasized that they are providing all games at a very nominal cost compared to what users might have had to pay through illegal streaming services or VPN access sites. This strategy promises promising growth numbers for their user base.
From non-sports entertainment content to major sports rights
Begin launched initially securing licensing rights for non-sports entertainment content from NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures Entertainment media giants in June 2024. Its first significant sports rights acquisition came in August of the same year when it secured the Pakistani streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) rights to broadcast English soccer’s elite tier Premier League matches for 2024-25.
In October, Begin agreed on a four-year broadcast deal with US women's golf's LPGA, before adding to that in 2025 with the US Women's Open and Women’s PGA Championship major events. In April 2025, Begin also secured domestic rights to Twenty20 cricket’s Pakistan Super League.
The destination of LaLiga rights in India has already been confirmed, with major players FanCode securing what is an attractive prospect due to the global notoriety of top clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.
