Spanish soccer's top-flight LaLiga has entered into a tripartite agreement with Saudi Arabian broadcaster Thmanyah and the Riyadh Season sporting, cultural, and entertainment brand. This collaboration aims to improve the broadcast quality of the Saudi Pro League (SPL), aligning it closer to Europe's top five leagues.
The deal will run through the 2025-26 campaign. It will see LaLiga assisting in enhancing SPL's broadcast quality. As part of this agreement, Thmanyah - the exclusive domestic broadcaster for SPL - will benefit from LaLiga's support in boosting local audiovisual production teams by sharing knowledge and technical information.
This strategy mirrors that of LaLiga itself which encourages clubs to assist in strengthening their overall product alongside league partners.
Strengthening ties in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh Season is already a commercial partner of LaLiga through a multi-year deal agreed upon in 2024. This new accord further strengthens Spanish top flight’s association with soccer in Saudi Arabia. In December last year, an office was opened within SPL's headquarters located at Riyadh by none other than LaLiga itself.
Saudi Arabia has been striving hard to compete with global soccer elites. The Kingdom views this partnership as another step towards presenting its on-field product akin to Europe’s so-called top five leagues - one of which is indeed La Liga.
Earlier in 2025, Leonard Soler Batet was hired by SPL who had served as head of international media rights at Spanish soccer's top-tier league –La Liga– for three years prior. In addition to Batet’s appointment, Jesús Arroyo – former deputy general manager of Sevilla FC – has now become an advisor to Omar Mugharbel, the SPL's chief executive.
Global reach of Saudi Pro League
The 2024-25 campaign saw the Saudi Pro League being broadcasted in over 165 countries on 43 global platforms. The international broadcast distribution rights have been held by heavyweight sports marketing agency IMG for the last two seasons. They also have a production deal in place through to the 2028-29 season.
LaLiga president, Javier Tebas, said:
“We think the Saudi pro league is in an excellent position, but they also need to take another step forward to reach the level of excellence from a broadcast perspective, and that's where we feel like our experience can contribute to that growth. The [SPL} has started on an important strategic path, which is the signing of big players. That needs to be complemented by an improved broadcast spectacle to be enjoyed by spectators who are watching from home, and certainly having greater attendance at the stadiums as well.
“Proper investment in digital can incentivize attendance at both stadiums and, bit by bit, continue the growth trajectory, so it could become amongst the top six or seven leagues in the world.”
Thmanyah, a subsidiary of Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), is a state-backed media company in Saudi Arabia. This tripartite agreement between LaLiga, Thmanyah and Riyadh Season aims to enhance SPL's broadcast quality while strengthening ties with soccer in Saudi Arabia. This collaboration will not only boost local audiovisual production teams but also help present SPL’s on-field product closer to Europe’s top five leagues.
