Dutch pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports and public-service broadcaster NOS have acquired rights to the Eredivisie Vrouwen, the top division of domestic women’s club football.
The deal covers the 2020-21 season of the league, which commences on September 6. It follows a pact signed between the recently centralised Eredivisie Vrouwen and Dutch Football Association (KNVB) which was signed in June with the goal of finding broadcasters and sponsors for the league.
During the 2020-21 season, Eredivisie Vrouwen matches will be played on Friday evenings, with the exception of one game on Sunday afternoons at 12:15pm (CET).
Fox Sports will broadcast the Sunday games live in a first for the league, with NOS providing highlights during its Studio Sport programme. NOS will also occasionally broadcast the Sunday game live.
Coverage of Friday’s matches will be provided in highlights form online by Fox Sports and via the social media channels of the league. Fox Sports said it will provide further coverage details later this month.
Sports Media Venture, the boutique production and rights consultancy set up former IMG executive Floris Weisz, worked on behalf of the KNVB as a consultant as the deals were struck.
Fox Sports holds domestic rights to the men’s Eredivisie in a 12-season deal running from 2013-14 to 2024-25 with a 51-per-cent stake in Eredivisie Media & Marketing (EMM), the media company that owns rights for the Eredivisie.
The eight-team Eredivisie Vrouwen saw its 2019-20 season terminated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be boosted this season with the return of experienced players to the league such as Sari van Veenendaal and Mandy van den Berg (both PSV) and Stefanie van der Gragt (Ajax).