British sports producer Aurora to expand into Riyadh and Abu Dhabi

Company plans to establish production hub in Emirati capital

Formula E is a fast-growing sport in Saudi Arabia. Getty Images

A British sports production company is expanding into the Middle East with a new Riyadh office and plans to establish a production hub in Abu Dhabi.

Lawrence Duffy, chief executive of Aurora Media, which has produced the live broadcasts for sports including Formula E and Extreme E, said the move was "natural and organic progression", driven by growing demand for original sports content in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

“We produce customised content for a variety of platforms, carefully tailored to different audience preferences, which sets us apart in the market," he added.

The company has appointed James Pearce as its managing director for the Middle East and North Africa region.

“The region is rich with talent and opportunity, and we are eager to harness and contribute to its growing media landscape,” Mr Pearce said.

Founded in 2012, Aurora is part of the All3Media Group, owned by Redbird IMI, a joint venture investment platform that focuses on global media, entertainment, sports and news content properties.

International Media Investments, a partner in Redbird IMI, owns The National.

Some of Aurora's clients include Formula E, Extreme E, E1, SailGP, Supertri, NitroCross, Olympic Channel, Jaguar, Nike and Royal Commission for AlUla.

“Our pioneering approach and focus on innovation aligns perfectly with the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to forge ahead with building on the growing interest in sport, entertainment and major events,” Mr Duffy said.

Technology plays a key role in the expansion of sports broadcasting market worldwide.

Global sports broadcasting technology market size is expected to reach $114.21 billion by 2030 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2 per cent from last year to 2030, a report by Grand View Research found.

The growth is driven by the increasing use of technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision models and audio recognition in broadcast.

Aurora has already established a significant presence in Saudi Arabia, Arab world’s biggest economy.

Some of its projects include various live and non-live productions, including host broadcasts for Formula E, Extreme E, E1 Series and Supertri, hosted in Riyadh, Jeddah and Neom, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup in AlUla.

In addition to live productions, the company has been involved in various original digital content projects in the region.

These include content for the Royal Commission for AlUla, covering short-form originals to digital-branded content during the festival seasons, and programmes for the Fursan and Camel Cup.

In the UAE, Aurora is producing digital content for Nike, including the new football kit launch for Al Ain FC, the Emirates’ most successful football club.

Aurora anticipates significant "strategic growth" in sports and sporting events in the kingdom, as well as in the UAE, bolstering the company's confidence in the region.

"The World Economic Forum projects an 8.7 per cent growth in the Middle East sports industry by 2026, compared to 3.3 per cent globally over the same period," Mr Duffy said.

"This gives us confidence, as there will be a need for a robust service sector to support this growth, and we plan to be at the forefront, ready to meet the increasing demand."