Proximus and Telenet claim victory in UEFA rights bidding round

Source: Telenet

Belgian operator Proximus and Telenet have both secured rights to UEFA Champions League football, with Proximus claiming to remain the ‘reference’ for Champions League fans in the face of Telenet securing Dutch-language Champions League rights and exclusive Dutch-language rights to Europa and Conference league matches.

The Belgian telco has renewed the broadcasting rights for all matches of the UEFA Champions League until 2027. The renewed agreement allows Proximus to offer European club football via its Pickx service.

Customers with the Pickx Sports or All Stars & Sports TV subscriptions can watch all the UEFA Champions League matches and reportages from the group stage to the final, on all screens, on their decoder, on pickx.be and on the Pickx app.

Thanks to the renewed contract between Proximus and UEFA, which runs until the end of the 2026-2027 season, football fans will have access to more matches through a new competition format. With 36 participating clubs (instead of 32 today) and a newly introduced League preceding the knock-out phases, viewers will be able to watch around 200 matches throughout the season.

“The UEFA Champions League is without a doubt the most attractive club competition at the international level. We are therefore delighted that our customers will continue to enjoy the drama and excitement associated with this competition in the years to come, as part of our extensive sports offering. This will ensure that we live up to our positioning as a premium brand,” said Jim Casteele, consumer market lead at Proximus.

Proximus’s Flemish cable rival Telenet meanwhile has added Dutch language Champions league rights to its Play Sports offering.

Telenet will also be broadcasting the UEFA Champions League from 2024 and has extended its broadcasting rights for the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League. ​

Play Media is also gaining exclusive Dutch language rights to the UEFA Europe League and UEFA Conference League.

Starting from the 2024-2025 season, customers of the Play Sports subscription package can view the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the other competitions, as the UEFA Europe League and UEFA Conference League were also awarded to Telenet for three seasons.

Telenet also holds exclusive rights to the English Premier League, Formula 1, ATP and WTA tennis and FIH Hockey Pro League, etc.

Dieter Nieuwdorp, Chief Commercial Officer Residential and SOHO at Telenet said: “We are particularly pleased to be able to offer our Play Sports customers all European UEFA club competitions starting next soccer season. These rights fit perfectly within our long-term vision concerning entertainment and will consequently structurally contribute to our customers’ viewing experience and the value of their package. Our Play Sports customers will henceforth be able to enjoy top quality live sports not just at weekends, but throughout the entire week. We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping that our Belgian teams will be successful, but regardless of which league they end up in: at Play Sports you’re in exactly the right place as both a customer and a soccer fan.”