Edinburgh tech firm’s know-how taking Saudi Pro League football global
“The natural evolution now is for players and creators not simply to promote content, but to distribute it directly to their fans and followers”
An Edinburgh tech firm is helping Saudi Arabia’s professional football league extend distribution beyond traditional broadcast relationships.
Recast, led by Scottish founder and chief executive Andy Meikle, is behind the technology that will push live Saudi Pro League content to a wider network of approved content creators, clubs, players and third-party platforms.
The model extends distribution beyond the traditional relationship between rights holders and broadcasters, allowing organisations and individuals with engaged audiences to participate directly in content distribution. Using the Scottish firm’s distribution and monetisation infrastructure, the league can make approved live content available across multiple digital platforms while retaining control over access, availability and commercial terms.
The move means that approved players, creators, clubs and third-party publishers can distribute and promote matches to their own audiences.
The technology also enables the Saudi Pro League - also known as the Roshn Saudi League - to issue direct-to-consumer access in selected markets, complementing its existing international broadcast arrangements. The new distribution model is now live across 16 participating international markets, including the UK and Ireland.
Meikle said: “In 2013, I partnered with Cristiano Ronaldo as athlete-led influencer marketing was beginning to emerge. The natural evolution now is for players and creators not simply to promote content, but to distribute it directly to their fans and followers and participate in the revenue they generate.
“The Saudi Pro League is leading that shift. By combining rights-holder control with Recast’s attribution and instant revenue-sharing infrastructure, the SPL can turn players, clubs, creators and publishers into a coordinated global distribution network.
“This does not replace broadcasters. It creates an entirely new layer of distribution alongside them, connecting live football with fans through the people and platforms they already follow.”
Omar Mugharbel, chief executive of the Saudi Pro League, added: “The way people discover, consume and engage with sport is changing rapidly. Fans are increasingly connected to competitions, clubs and players through digital platforms and the creators and communities they trust.
“For generations, sports distribution has largely been a relationship between rights holders and broadcasters. Developments in technology and the growth of the creator economy give us an opportunity to add another dimension to that relationship.”
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