Disney’s ESPN holds broadcasting rights to Eredivisie until 2030

Disney-operated sports entertainment giant, ESPN, has retained the media rights to the Dutch football legaue, Eredivisie, until 2030. 

Source: Eredivise

The extension of EMM, the JV of The Walt Disney Company, Eredivisie CV, and the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), sees ESPN renew its rights after previously holding the broadcasting rights to the leading professional league up to 2025. It had hheld exclusive rights to Eredivisie since 2013.

The outcome was secured following an unanimously agreement between 18 Eredivisie clubs.

The five year deal also includes coverage of second tier Dutch football league Eerste Divisie on ESPN, with the sports broadcaster to air a wide selection of matches from each round. In addition, Azerion Women’s Eredivise will be live broadcasted every matchday on ESPN. Games from both Eerste Divisie and Azerion Women’s Eredivise will also be available for streaming on ESPN Watch.

The KNVB Cup, Dutch Super Cup and Jong Oranje under-21 matches will also be shown live and exclusively available on ESPN.

Dutch telco operators including Delta Fiber, KPN, Odido, and VodafoneZiggo have also withdrawn their complaint filed with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) about Eredivisie and ESPN’s broadcasting partnership, after the market watchdog found both companies did not violate competition rules.

Jan de Jong, CEO of the Eredivisie CV, said: “Our collaboration has already been extremely successful and will now continue for at least five more years. ESPN is a reliable, credible, and triple-A media partner for us, and more importantly, for the viewers. Moreover, we reach the largest possible audience. More than 90% of the Dutch households can tune in to us. It’s a unique setup, a joint venture, unparalleled in Europe. And to top it off, it’s with The Walt Disney Company, the largest and perhaps the most innovative media company on the planet. That speaks volumes. In addition, Eredivisie CV gains significant commercial freedoms for the future. The financial guarantees are solid, the compensations are considerably higher than before, and we have many opportunities to further increase the value and consequently the revenues.”

Frank Rutten and Marco de Ruiter from Eredivisie Media & Marketing added: “With ESPN, we continue to be the connecting factor for football enthusiasts in the Netherlands, bringing all Dutch club football live to people’s homes in the best possible way with passion. In doing so, we create an even broader and solid financial foundation for football, which is important to ensure the continued growth and development of the leagues in terms of quality. But above all, together with the clubs, we are building a platform where Dutch club football, both for men and women, is widely available and accessible to supporters”