Saudi Pro League Seals UK Broadcast Deal
DAZN has secured the exclusive broadcast rights to show the Saudi Pro League in the UK, according to the BBC.
The Saudi Pro League (SPL), which begins on Friday 11th August, will reportedly be show on subscription streaming platform DAZN, with three games per week benefitting from coverage.
DAZN is set to screen every game involving Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the first major names to join the Saudi league back in January 2023 and one of football’s biggest stars.
Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy have also all joined Saudi clubs this summer, which has seen the interest in the league pique.
In July Al-Hilal, who have already recruited Rúben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sergej Milinković-Savić this summer, made a world-record £259 bid for Paris St-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, however the player has refused to enter into negotiations with the club.
Earlier this summer four clubs – Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-ittihad and Al-Nassr – were brought under the under the control of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which also owns Premier League football club.
This was followed by PIF’s LIV Golf brand merging with the PGA Tour, consolidating the a growing Saudi influence within sport.
Sky Sports had been showing highlights of games involving Ronaldo via YouTube, but it is thought that unimpressive viewership numbers ended the coverage. Sky had reportedly held discussions over taking the rights to the SPL however no bid was made.
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