Saudi Arabia Elevates Sports Production with IMG, Bringing Global Standards and Local Talent to the Spotlight
Riyadh – Saudi Arabia is ushering in a new era of sports production, aligning with Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s ambitious program to achieve economic, social, and cultural diversification.
The country is fast becoming a global hub for sports and entertainment, and IMG Studios is at the forefront of this transformation, pairing international expertise with local partnerships to enhance productions, grow audiences, and develop homegrown talent across the Kingdom.
The five-year production partnership between the Saudi Pro League, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, and IMG, which began last year and will run until the 2028/29 season, covers the ROSHN Saudi League, the King’s Cup, and the Saudi Super Cup.
The goal is to deploy remote production capabilities to cover multiple matches across the country simultaneously, providing consistent, high-quality storytelling for a league on the rise.
IMG has also partnered with Riyadh-based production company Alamiya Media to combine local knowledge with global capability, ensuring superior coverage while nurturing production talent on the ground.
This collaboration has expanded the league’s reach, distributing SPL media rights internationally and allowing the Kingdom’s football stars to be watched by fans around the world.
During Matchweek 1 at the end of August, IMG’s young Saudi production team coordinated over 100 flights for nine matches across the country, showcasing the next generation of production managers, producers, and directors ready to lead the industry.
Last season, SPL matches were broadcast in more than 184 countries across 43 platforms, highlighting how IMG’s production expertise is helping build a compelling sports product in the heart of the Middle East.
Efficiency and creativity are key to deploying remote production across a busy match calendar. The partnership aims to implement advanced remote workflows so senior producers can oversee multiple venues in a single day while centralizing quality control and graphics.
This is supported by IMG’s Stockley Park facility in London, one of Europe’s best-connected broadcast hubs, ensuring consistency across cameras, communications, and creative assets.
Consistency is essential for building brand equity, creating new storytelling formats, and connecting stars, clubs, and culture to global audiences.
IMG’s approach extends beyond football, as seen at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, which featured 2,000 elite players from 100 countries, alongside community tournaments, live music, retro arcades, and creator studios.
IMG enhanced coverage with EWC Spotlight, a custom-built studio show giving fans behind-the-scenes content and celebrity interviews, featuring guests like Stranger Things actor David Harbour, F1 driver Lando Norris, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal.
EWC Spotlight exemplified how Saudi-based events can reach both core and mainstream audiences worldwide, with broadcasts carried by major partners including beIN, Fox Sports, DAZN, and ITVx, highlighting the importance of locally embedded production teams.
IMG also produces the world feed for the Saudi Cup, the most valuable horse race globally, delivering a “Golden Hour” program blending culture and competition. The broadcast reached over 170 territories via 30+ international broadcasters, with cinematic visuals and graphics that honor the event’s Saudi identity.
Whether in football, esports, or horse racing, IMG Studios’ strategy in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region consistently combines global expertise with local capability, innovates formats to attract new fans, and ensures content reaches international audiences.
Multi-year partnerships across the SPL, EWC, and prestige race days have already laid strong foundations, positioning Saudi Arabia as a global sports and entertainment hub and demonstrating how Vision 2030 is transforming the Kingdom into a center of excellence for world-class productions while developing the next generation of creative and technical talent.
