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Fox to broadcast Saudi League and Ronaldo in USA

12 Aug 2023 07:40am
Nassr's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo eyes the ball during the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup semi-final football match between Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr and Iraq's Al-Shorta at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium in Abha on Aug 9, 2023. (Photo by Abdullah Mahdi / AFP)
Nassr's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo eyes the ball during the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup semi-final football match between Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr and Iraq's Al-Shorta at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium in Abha on Aug 9, 2023. (Photo by Abdullah Mahdi / AFP)

MIAMI - Fox Sports have secured the rights to broadcast the Saudi Pro League, including games featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, in the United States, the network announced on Friday.

Fox will launch the deal with broadcasts of two games on Monday featuring Ronaldo and former Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema.

An industry source told AFP that Fox's deal was for 100 matches this season and for both English and Spanish language rights. The matches will feature on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Deportes as well as Fox Soccer Plus.

The arrival of Ronaldo in the Gulf kingdom has been followed by a series of big money acquisitions and the league will now reach fans across the United States with the Fox deal.

With Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, part of a boom in interest in the sport, Fox will be hoping that they can attract interest from Ronaldo's significant personal following.

Saudi clubs have used their huge budgets to attract global stars, with French striker Benzema, England midfielder Jordan Henderson and Senegalese striker Sadio Mane among those who have moved to the league.

Last month, Saudi club Al-Hilal made a 300-million-euro ($328 million) bid for Kylian Mbappe, though the Paris Saint-Germain striker reportedly refused to meet with officials from the club.

Messi's games with Inter Miami are broadcast on Apple TV but Fox have the rights to broadcast an average of 34 regular season games and eight play-off matches across their four-year deal. AFP

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