Belgacom ready to participate in football JV

Belgian service provider Belgacom has said it is ready to participate in a non-exclusive multi-party joint venture with the country’s football Pro League in the wake of rival operator Telenet’s striking of a deal with the league.

Liberty Global-owned Telenet said last week that it would enter a joint venture for live coverage of top-tier Belgian football on a dedicated Jupiler League channel after its current contract with the league expires in June. The operator said it would make the channel available to all interested TV platform operators on a non-exclusive basis.

Belgacom has said it is in favour of a non-exclusive model allowing football fans to view all games independent of their choice of service provider and that it is willing to participate in the Telenet/Pro League joint venture to ensure the neutrality of the football offering and its accessibility to the highest number of supporters.

Telenet currently holds the rights to top tier Belgian football for the Flemish region, leaving Belgacom with rights to broadcast Saturday matches until the end of the current season under an existing contract. WOO holds rights to show matches up to the 2013-14 season in French-speaking Belgium.

Telenet reportedly tabled €900 million to secure rights to the league for an extended 12-year period earlier this month ahead of the joint venture announcement.