The eighteen football clubs that make up the Dutch premier division (Eredivisie) have reached agreement on the terms of the TV rights that will be offered for the next three seasons, and on how the income will be divided amongst the clubs. Three years ago, the domestic highlights were awarded to John de Mol’s Talpa TV, that paid about 70 million euro for the three-year deal, but the station was not a commercial success and was taken over last summer by RTL, who thus acquired the rights for this season.
Live domestic rights are currently with the pay-TV station Sport 1. A tender will be advertised on Monday, and bids will be accepted until early in January. The Eredivisie also hopes to make more from foreign rights. In the UK and Ireland, pay-TV station Setanta currently holds the rights to live matches from the Netherlands, but industry observers expect Sky TV to put in a bid this time.
