Sportitalia, a leading satellite and digital terrestrial broadcaster in Italy, has renewed its broadcasting rights for the Saudi Pro League (SPL) soccer competition. The deal extends the partnership for another two years, allowing Sportitalia to air three SPL matches per week during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns.
The renewal of this partnership was facilitated by IMG, an international sports marketing agency responsible for distributing the league’s media rights worldwide. This agreement will enable Sportitalia to broadcast a total of 102 SPL matches across its free-to-air channel through to the end of the 2026-27 campaign.
The upcoming 2025-26 season is set to commence on August 28 with a total of eighteen teams participating.
Building on previous successes
This new deal builds upon Sportitalia's previous agreement with SPL covering the 2024-25 season. It also complements other soccer rights held by Sportitalia, including broadcasting privileges for Argentina's top-tier Primera Division until 2027.
In recent years, IMG has expanded its relationship with both SPL and Saudi Arabian Football Federation through a five-year production deal. As part of this arrangement, IMG assumed responsibility as broadcast producer for several prestigious competitions including Saudi's top tier - King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup knockout competitions.
The SPL has been making significant strides towards expanding its global footprint in recent years. The most visible testament to this expansion is evident in their recruitment strategy that includes signing up well-known players from around the world such as Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo who now plays in one of their clubs. In addition to player signings, other efforts towards global expansion include producing a Netflix series titled "Saudi Pro League: Kickoff" which went live last November. Furthermore, they have also secured a range of commercial deals with international brands.
Global and domestic coverage
The 2024-25 SPL season was broadcasted in over 165 countries on 43 global platforms. This included renowned broadcasters such as Canal Plus in France, DAZN across five territories, Fox in the US and Caribbean, Okko in Russia, Tencent in China, and SportyTV in Nigeria and Ghana.
Domestically, the league is aired live by Saudi Sports Company. The renewed deal with Sportitalia further solidifies SPL's commitment to expanding its reach both domestically and internationally while providing sports fans worldwide with access to high-quality soccer content.
