With its clubs now consistently bidding on players from major European leagues, attracting top-level coaches and even beating Champions League clubs on the field, things are beginning to feel different for the Saudi Pro League.

Data revealed by GSIQ suggests the reasons why. The Saudi Pro League has entered a new phase of growth and global recognition.

Saudi Pro League – broadcast around the world

First of all, let’s take a look at broadcast figures – still the mainstay of a mainstream sport like football – and the value it is producing for partners.

In all, 57,000 hours of broadcast coverage was delivered globally by the League last season (2024/25).

As you’d expect, the majority of these hours were in Saudi itself but other markets are also bought in. In Germany, for example, 4,000 hours of the League was broadcast, while in the UAE, it was 3,000 and in Brazil 2,000.

And this coverage is creating a virtuous circle. The more broadcast hours there are, the more sponsors are happy.

Broadcast accounted for 78% of the total net media value for the League’s central partners last season with exposure shared across the board.

As you might expect, title sponsor ROSHN got the lion’s share but the degree of dominance might be surprising. The property developer captured 90% of sponsor broadcast exposure across the season, with two-thirds generated from RSL branding and one-third from direct brand visibility. Referee apparel and ball provider adidas comes in second with 2% SOV (share of voice), and BSF is hot on its heels (also 2%).

In terms of assets, overall TVGI generated the most exposure (60% of value), followed by LED boards (28%) and then pitch mats (13%).

The Saudi Pro League is commanding more online press – and for the right reasons

The League is also doing well when it comes to earned media too.

We benchmarked online press traction for the competition against major European leagues across the 24/25 season and the results are impressive. The RSL comes in above Ligue 1 when it comes to mentions.  It’s closing the gap on third and fourth place (Bundesliga and Serie A) but there’s still headroom for growth.

And while star signings drive a lot of that coverage (53%), the competition itself is also being taken seriously. A quarter of all online press coverage (24%) is now about games and results. In a crowded market for sports news, the League is achieving impressive cut-through and is increasingly doing so on the strength of its sporting offer.

Media coverage of Saudi Pro League is driving fan chatter

So much for media exposure for the League. Where it really matters is with the fans – and this is an area that’s truly impressive.

Last season the property saw nearly 9mn mentions for the League across the main social platforms, putting it firmly in the top echelon of football competitions, and above Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga. What’s more, positive sentiment greatly outweighed negative sentiment (+18 percentage points higher) and social media posts from league-related accounts generated 750mn+ engagements.

For the competition’s central partners that meant big returns. Instagram alone offered a net media value of $9.9mn for those sponsors, with X offering $7.7mn and TikTok $2.1mn, making 2024/25 was a landmark season for the league.

We also analysed the value of the social posts of the top ten SPL players by followership last season to see what impact they had. The results were impressive, delivering central league sponsors an additional $1.25mn of net media value and ROSHN alone benefitting from 22 player posts. With more high profile players and coaches signed up, and the potential for further collaboration between the league, clubs and high profile players, that figure is only likely to increase for 2025/26.

A league on the up

All this data points to one thing – a property that is on the ascendancy.

Although there may be growing pains ahead – for example, keeping sponsors across the board happy – the overall increase in the size of the exposure pie should be enough to ride them out and allow space for the League to grow. Fans of European sides may need to get used to their increasingly noisy neighbour.

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