Telenet and DAZN agree Belgian football distribution return
Telenet has struck a distribution deal with DAZN that will put Belgian football back on Play Sports from next season, easing a carriage impasse that has depressed reach and value during DAZN’s first year as rights holder.
Telenet has agreed a distribution partnership with DAZN that will bring live coverage of the Jupiler Pro League back to the operator from the 2026–27 season, restoring access for a large portion of the domestic pay-TV market.The agreement also covers DAZN’s rights to the Challenger Pro League and the Women’s Super League, with Play Sports customers set to gain access to DAZN’s Total package as part of the updated offer.Dieter Nieuwdorp, Telenet group chief commercial officer, said: “Belgian football belongs in the living room. We are therefore incredibly happy and proud that, together with DAZN, we can make this possible again.”The deal runs for the remainder of DAZN’s current rights period, giving the streamer a major distribution route after a season in which top-flight matches have largely been available via its own platform.Telenet will begin the relationship immediately with a limited free-to-view window, offering eight Champions’ Play-offs matches to all Telenet TV customers with a Telenet TV box during May at no extra cost.Those matches will air across matchdays seven to ten, with two fixtures per round carried on Telenet channels 212 and 213 without requiring a Play Sports subscription.From next season, the DAZN content will be available live on television and via the app for Play Sports customers, with Telenet saying further details on packages and subscription combinations will follow over the summer.Alongside Belgian football, the partnership brings back a wider set of DAZN inventory to Telenet, including LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the NBA, which strengthens Play Sports’ proposition as a multi-sport premium bundle.Commercially, the distribution tie-up reduces risk for DAZN’s Pro League rights cycle by expanding addressable reach, improving the economics of rights payments and production, and creating a clearer base for advertising and sponsorship sales.It also provides the Pro League and its clubs with greater certainty on domestic exposure at a point when rights holders and leagues are increasingly judged on accessibility as well as headline rights fees.The deal lands after months of legal and contractual tension around DAZN’s Belgian rights package, which included a requirement to secure broader distribution and became a key pressure point once carriage talks with major telecom operators stalled.With a full-season distribution plan now in place for 2026–27, the next commercial test will be how pricing, packaging and marketing translate into retention for Telenet and sustainable subscriber growth for DAZN in Belgium.