No more European football on public broadcaster VRT from 2024

Telenet, through its subsidiary Play Media, has acquired the exclusive Dutch language rights to the Europa League and the Conference League in Flanders. According to VRT, it was impossible to afford the rights "in a changing media landscape where sports rights are highly coveted".

Instead, Telenet will exclusively broadcast the Europa League and the Conference League from the start of next season until 2027. The public broadcaster is not pulling out of football altogether: it will continue to broadcast the Belgian Cup, the next World Cup and the final rounds of the European Championship.

Until 2026-2027, all Champions League matches will be locked behind the paywalls of Proximus and Telenet. Proximus used to have exclusive rights, but the number of Champions League matches have increased, and with inflation put pressure on licensing deals, it decided to share the rights.

Viewers without a subscription can turn to VTM, which will show top matches and Belgian teams. From 2024, VTM will be able to broadcast one match of its choice every three match days.

^{#FlandersNewsService | © Jose Manuel Vidal / POOL / AFP}