Localised Sports Content in Growing Markets: An Opportunity for Leagues and Emerging Platforms?
Historically dominated by large, bundled deals spanning entire regions, the constantly evolving sports media rights landscape is now seeing new opportunities driven by the rise of OTT platforms and the potential for region-specific rights agreements.
A recent deal between 1001, an emerging MENA-based streaming service, and LaLiga to secure co-exclusive broadcasting rights in Iraq, facilitated by LaSource, is a prime example of this trend. This transaction marks a significant shift from traditional models and uncovers untapped value for both IP buyers and rights owners. At both ends of the value chain, the question should be: how can we build a commercial strategy to unlock this opportunity?
The LaLiga-Iraq Deal: A Case Study in Regional Focus
In 2024, LaSource played a central role in supporting 1001, a subsidiary of Sharqiya TV, in acquiring the broadcasting rights for LaLiga in Iraq for the 2024-2028 cycle. This deal is particularly notable because it carved out Iraq as a distinct territory from the broader MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, where rights are traditionally bundled and sold to large broadcasters like Bein and Starzplay. Then, such broadcasters either endorse the role of a media distributor and sublicense the rights in local markets or broadcast the content on their owned and operated channels. By enabling a more granular and regionalised approach, LaLiga and 1001 have leveraged a strategic opportunity: tailoring rights to underserved markets without diluting the value of more significant regional deals, benefiting all stakeholders part of the value chain: the IP owner (new revenue stream), the rights holder (rights portfolio) and the end-consumer (more personalised content).
This deal marks a milestone not only for LaLiga but also for Iraq as a media market. For 1001, the acquisition represents an opportunity to scale rapidly by leveraging premium sports content—historically a key driver of subscriber growth for OTT platforms. This case study highlights the growing potential for regional deals to generate value where blanket, region-wide agreements may have previously overlooked specific markets.
The Rise of Streaming Platforms in Emerging Markets
The growth of OTT platforms in emerging markets like Iraq deserves more attention. These platforms provide a critical solution for audiences underserved by traditional media networks. With lower entry barriers and more distribution flexibility, OTT platforms like 1001 can offer premium sports content to regions that historically lack access to exclusive, high-quality sports broadcasting, leaving piracy an opportunity to surge.
Credits: Streaming Lab
In Iraq, 1001’s entry into the market with LaLiga rights represents a new phase of digital transformation and comes at a perfect moment. The population is young, passionate and eager to engage with sports content. Football is the most popular sport in Iraq, with 40% of Iraqi youth practising football either formally or informally as amateur football players. Moreover, Iraq’s internet penetration rate stood at 74.9 per cent of the total population at the start of 2023 compared to 49.4 per cent the year before, meaning the population’s access to online (live) video content is booming. By securing exclusive rights to one of the most popular football leagues in the world, 1001 is positioning itself as a leading content provider, leveraging sports as the cornerstone of its growth strategy. In the same region, Starzplay also placed sports at the core of its content offering.
This trend is not limited to Iraq but extends to numerous other emerging markets which are rapidly adopting streaming services. The Dubai-based entertainment company Galaxy Racer recently announced they would be streaming games from Ligue 1, Serie A and LaLiga in the Indian Subcontinent territory, where the appetite for premium sports content has not stopped growing in recent years. In February, F1 jumped on Fan Code's opportunity to personalise its content in one of its most promising markets. While races will be shown on F1TV co-exclusively, Fan Code will provide F1 with unrivalled market expertise and offer innovative packages more suited for Indian consumption habits (packages to watch per race, per race day, etc).
CazéTV, LiveMode or CalienteTV in LATAM are other (innovative) media examples leveraging premium sports rights to develop and retain audiences while helping IP owners penetrate underserved markets.
Opportunities for Rights Holders: Maximising Value Without Undermining Bigger Deals
For rights holders like LaLiga, the emergence of platforms like 1001 offers an opportunity to extract additional value from markets that might otherwise go untapped. Indeed, addressing such specific markets requires a thorough knowledge of local population demands and media landscape structuration. It is neither easy nor cheap, and the marginal gain might ultimately be very limited. Having broadcast partners who can increase your IP value by delivering it in a personalised fashion will only result in a win-win situation.
Through this deal, LaLiga has been able to tap into the unique potential of a specific market without diminishing the overall value of its regional deals. This strategy can be replicated in other emerging markets, where smaller streaming operators are eager to gain a foothold and rights holders have an opportunity to maximise their reach and revenues. The LaLiga-Iraq deal shows how sports organisations can exploit these opportunities while maintaining relationships with major broadcasters in more extensive territories.
A Broader Trend: The Future of Region-Specific Rights Deals
The LaLiga-Iraq deal is not an isolated case; it is part of a broader trend to see more region-specific deals emerge in the coming years. As streaming platforms continue to gain traction, especially in markets with younger, digitally native audiences, rights holders will increasingly look to segment their deals in ways that unlock additional value. This doesn’t just include live rights but also broader shoulder content, clips, and new digital formats.
Global streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple have already started exploring sports content as a critical driver of audience engagement, live but also (and mostly) non-live. These platforms are helping reshape the way sports organisations strengthen the bonds with their fans and expand their reach to new fan bases (read our article on the topic) in both core and emerging markets. A key factor, though, will be which organisation succeeds in expanding in a given territory, knowing that the sooner you penetrate a new market, the better and the trickier it will be for your competitor to win market shares. Sports streaming is not just about providing access to content; it’s about creating tailored experiences that resonate with local audiences. In markets like Iraq, where football holds immense cultural significance, exclusive LaLiga rights provide a compelling value proposition for the platform and its subscribers. This is why deals like the one between 1001 and LaLiga will become more common as the market evolves.
A New Era for Sports Media Rights
The LaLiga-Iraq deal facilitated by LaSource is a sign of things to come. As OTT platforms rise in emerging markets and rights holders explore new ways to monetise their content in a flattening media rights market, region-specific deals will become an increasingly important part of the sports media landscape. These deals allow both sides to unlock untapped value without sacrificing the more significant, lucrative agreements in critical territories.
For streaming platforms, these deals provide a path to growth through premium content and deliver exclusive coverage to underserved consumers. For IP owners, they offer a way to extract value from secondary markets while still maintaining their global presence. While streaming technology plays a significant role in this expansion, it is worth noting that other tech will also foster growth, such as real-time dubbing like Camb.ai, allowing content accessibility to the highest number of sports fans across the world. As the sports media ecosystem continues to evolve, LaSource is proud to be at the forefront of helping shape the future of sports rights and media distribution.
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