With all focus placed on realizing Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s program which aims to achieve increased diversification economically, socially and culturally, the Kingdom is undergoing a transformation that is seeing it fast become the new of home of global sport and entertainment. Aiding the country on this mission is IMG studios business, pairing global expertise with local partnerships to elevate productions, grow audiences and develop talent across the Kingdom. Here’s how that strategy has been playing out on screens and behind the scenes:
Global craft, local roots
Saudi Arabia’s sporting rise has been matched by an equally ambitious broadcast vision. At the center of that push is a five-year production partnership between the Saudi Pro League, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and IMG, signed last year and set to run until the 2028/29 season. Covering the ROSHN Saudi League, the King’s Cup and the Saudi Super Cup, the goal for IMG is to roll out remote production capabilities, allowing production of multiple matches across the country at the same time. The result? Consistent, best-in-class coverage and storytelling of a league on the rise.
IMG’s approach in the Kingdom has been to enhance local properties and their products by connecting them with more fans in the region and around the world. To do so, IMG has partnered with Riyadh-based production facilities company Alamiya Media, combining local knowledge with global capability and resulting in consistent, superior coverage of the league, while nurturing and supporting production talent on the ground.
The partnership has been a huge success and combined with IMG’s mandate to distribute the SPL’s media rights internationally, the league and its stars are being watched by more fans than ever. For Matchweek 1 at the end of August, IMG’s young Saudi team of production assistants and coordinators navigated 100+ flights for nine matches across the country. “Having coordinated crews from across the globe to work on the Saudi Pro League in a pre-production period of three weeks, I look at this younger Saudi generation with admiration and pride. They will be the next generation of production managers, producers and directors,” said Gurjit Kharbanda, IMG’s production executive in Saudi Arabia.
This season will build on last season, when SPL matches were broadcast in more than 184 countries and across 43 platforms — strong evidence that IMG studios business’ production and storytelling expertise is helping build a compelling product in the heart of the Middle East.
Remote production at scale
Deploying throughout a busy match calendar requires efficiency as well as creativity. It is hoped that with the partnership between IMG and the SPL/SAFF, the rollout of advanced remote production workflows can soon become a reality, transforming the market. This would allow senior producers to work on matches across multiple venues on the same day, while centralizing quality control and graphics.
A key part of the infrastructure that would support this operation runs through IMG’s Stockley Park production facility in London, often described as Europe’s best connected broadcast hub.
For rightsholders, that matters. Consistency across cameras, communications and creative assets is what allows leagues to build brand equity across markets and form the foundations for new storytelling formats around stars, their clubs and wider culture.
Building a platform for the Esports World Cup
The same blueprint — premium production, best-in-class storytelling and global reach — has been evident at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh this year.
Hosted in Riyadh in August and featuring 2,000 elite players from 100 countries, the EWC formed part of the wider EWC Festival, where the gaming community came together around a series of community tournaments, live music, retro arcades, creator studios and more.
Attracting millions of in-person and online viewers, the Esports World Cup Foundation called on the expertise of IMG to enhance its existing broadcast coverage with a supplementary show designed to expand the EWC’s audience. The centerpiece of the partnership, EWC Spotlight was produced each championship weekend in a custom-built studio in Riyadh’s Boulevard City, taking fans behind the scenes with exclusive content and celebrity guests. Taking inspiration from IMG’s highly successful CBS Champions League show, the show introduced esports to a whole new audience.
Featuring multiple gaming arenas at the festival site with guests including Stranger Things star David Harbor, F1 driver Lando Norris and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal in attendance, EWC Spotlight complemented the live action with exciting entertainment formats that could draw in new audiences and deepen engagement with esports across every level.
With production handled on-site in Riyadh, emphasizing the importance IMG places on locally embedded teams, and the show carried by major broadcast partners including beIN, Fox Sports, DAZN and ITVx, EWC Spotlight was a template for how Saudi-based events could reach both core and mainstream audiences across the world.
A global moment for a Saudi tradition
In the world of equine sports, IMG produces the world feed for the Saudi Cup, the world’s most valuable horse race. In 2024, the broadcast package included a dedicated “Golden Hour” program, mixing culture and competition, and was picked up by 30+ international broadcasters across 170 territories — positioning Riyadh’s showpiece as a genuine global TV moment. Production is complemented by cinematic on-air visuals and a graphics language that honors the event’s Saudi identity.
Building a legacy beyond 2030
Whether it’s football, esports or racing, IMG studios business’ strategy in Saudi Arabia and MENA is consistent — pair global craft with local capability, innovate formats that welcome new fans and distribute content so the region’s stories travel. With multi-year partnerships across SPL, the EWC and prestige race days, the foundations IMG have laid are strong and screens everywhere in Riyadh and beyond are already showing the results.
