Ziggo tipped to secure Dutch Champions League, Europa League from 2024

Local media reports suggest a significant shake up is on its way for live football broadcasting in the Netherlands. Although as yet unconfirmed, it looks as though Liberty Global and Vodafone backed cable platform Ziggo has secured control of both UEFA Champions League and Europa League fixtures from 2024-2027.

Ziggo has not commented on the news as yet, but RTL, which currently controls Champions League games, confirmed it has lost out on the next rights cycle. At the same time, a spokesperson from Talpa, which owns the SBS6 and Veronica channels, told a radio station he is “99.9% sure” Ziggo Sport will also take control of Europa League rights from 2024. Talpa currently airs this competition on Veronica.

The Dutch sports rights sector has become highly competitive in recent times, with the arrival of Nordic streamer Viaplay. Viaplay poached the rights to both Formula One and the EPL from Ziggo to support its launch. In response, Ziggo locked up LaLiga rights until 2029 and now seems to have secured UEFA’s competitions.

Elsewhere in Europe, Amazon Prime has become a major contender for Champion’s League rights, but as yet has not made a move on the Netherlands market. This may soon change, however, now Amazon Prime is established in the country. Currently, Ziggo is the largest PayTV platform in a market of around 6.9m subscribers.