Belgian pay-television broadcasters Belgacom, Telenet and Voo have acquired non-exclusive domestic rights for live coverage of the Pro League, the top division of football in the country.
The Sporting Telenet, Belgacom 11 and VooFoot channels will be able to show live coverage of all Pro League matches for the next three seasons, from 2014-15 to 2016-17.
The three broadcasters acquired the first two of the six packages put on the market by the league, with the assistance of media-rights adviser the MP & Silva agency, at the end of April.
Package One includes rights for five live matches per week, a preview and magazine show, highlights of all matches and delayed coverage of all matches in Package Two. Package Two includes rights for the other three live matches per week, a preview and magazine show, highlights of all matches and delayed coverage of all matches in Package One.
Pro League chief executive Ludwig Sneyers said that other broadcasters interested in acquiring non-exclusive rights for live coverage should contact the league.
Public-service broadcaster RTBF acquired French-language rights for Packages Three and Four. Package Three includes highlights of matches from 23.00pm on every match day plus live rights for the Belgium Super Cup. Package Four comprised exclusive rights for a Monday evening magazine programme.
The Flemish-language rights for Packages Three and Four were not sold due to a lack of interest from broadcasters. The league said that it is doing “everything in its power” to sell the rights.
The league added that it is still in negotiations to sell Packages Five and Six, which also remain unsold. Package Five includes near-live clips of all matches via internet and mobile. It includes up to 10 clips per match, of up to 20 seconds each, with the rights expiring 60 minutes after each match. Package Six is for delayed clips of all matches via internet and mobile, but is limited to an on-demand basis. It includes a maximum of three clips of three minutes each per match, and up to 30 clips per match day.