Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo is one of a number of stars now playing in the Saudi Pro League. (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Heavyweight sports marketing agency IMG has extended and expanded its relationship with soccer’s Saudi Pro League (SPL) and Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), through a five-year production deal.

The agreement entails IMG taking on the role of broadcast producer for the Saudi top tier, the King’s Cup, and Saudi Super Cup knockout competitions.

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Through the tie-up, SPL and SAFF will serve and act as the host broadcaster for the King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup through 2028-29. IMG, meanwhile, will assist those organizations in implementing remote production technologies, meaning producers can oversee matches across different cities on the same day.

The deal adds to the existing relationship between IMG and the SPL, through which the agency distributes the league’s media rights worldwide, with the parties having disclosed a two-year deal to that effect last June.

During 2023-24, SPL games were covered in over 160 countries on more than 40 platforms, with streaming heavyweight DAZN one of the foremost broadcasters.

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Barney Francis, IMG’s executive vice president of studios, has said of the new partnership: “In today’s battle for attention, it’s critical for rightsholders to take control of their narrative and innovate. We are excited to help SPL take its content offering and storytelling to the next level for viewers and broadcasters, and to provide opportunities for local broadcast and production talent to be part of the journey.”

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The deal has been unveiled with the 18-team Saudi Pro League set to run from August through May next year.

IMG, meanwhile, announced a new multi-year TV production deal with English soccer’s EFL, the organizer of the country’s second, third, and fourth-tier competitions, in April.

The firm will serve as the production partner from the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign through 2028-29.

The agency has been a partner of the EFL since 2019, producing livestream video broadcasts for the body.