Dutch cable-television provider KPN has agreed a fresh carriage deal with pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports Netherlands, ending a dispute between the two parties.
KPN was forced back to the negotiating table with Fox Sports after losing out in a court judgment last month. A judge at the Rechtbank Midden-Nederland court in Utrecht ruled Fox was entitled to demand that its Fox Sports 1 channel is included in KPN’s basic television package and that it receives a per-subscriber fee.
The previous contract between KPN and Fox expired on August 1 and the court’s ruling meant Fox could seek new terms. KPN had sought to continue to offer Fox’s channels as a premium package but Fox was seeking that Fox Sports 1, which includes top-tier Eredivisie football, be added to the basic package.
However, in a statement released on Saturday, KPN said it had agreed terms on a fresh deal with Fox concerning the carriage of Fox Sports channels, which offer live games from the Eredivisie.
Full terms of the new deal are yet to be disclosed, but KPN said it will continue to offer the Fox Sports channels as premium channels. KPN added in a statement: “The starting point in reaching agreement on the distribution and pricing of Fox Sports is that KPN customers who want to watch Fox Sports’ live league matches may continue to do so under better conditions.
“KPN maintains the current model of distribution of Fox Sports and has been given more flexibility to make football accessible to a wider group of fans at a lower price, without inclusion in the basic package.”
Fox Sports holds broadcast rights for the Eredivisie in a 12-season deal running from 2013-14 to 2024-25. The 2016-17 Eredivisie campaign kicked off on August 5.