Sports subscription streaming heavyweight DAZN has been ordered to continue covering Belgian soccer's top-tier Pro League until the end of the 2025-26 season.
This legal ruling was handed down by the Belgian Arbitration and Mediation Centre (CEPANI) earlier this week, in response to DAZN's Pro League contract (a five-year deal that only got underway in late July) being annulled at the end of November (although it has actually continued to cover the games since that point).
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Along with airing the 16-team Pro League domestically, DAZN must also pay the remaining money due for the rights through to the end of 2026, having not paid these fees since November.
The contract annulment took place after DAZN and the league failed to strike wider distribution deals with two other partners (likely, telecoms operators) for Pro League coverage, as had been a condition of the original agreement between those two parties.
Therefore, the essential terms of the contract between DAZN and the Pro League were not met. DAZN had renegotiated its media rights agreement with the league for a five-year extension late in 2024, renewing the deal to a lower figure of €84.2 million (at that time, $99.7 million) per season – a significant drop from the previous five-year contract, which was worth €103 million annually.
Following DAZN's announcement that the contract was null and void, the Pro League then resorted to legal action, leading to these results.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataIn addition to CEPANI ruling that DAZN must continue to air Pro League action and continue to pay the league, that body has said that the streaming heavyweight must reopen negotiations over wider coverage with telecoms firms such as Proximus, Telenet, and Orange.
Now, the Pro League's chief executive, Lorin Parys, has said: "The winners with this ruling are our fans, our clubs and Belgian football as a whole.
"We are pleased that, among other things, DAZN must fulfil its commitments regarding production, distribution, payment, and negotiations with the telecom operators."
DAZN did at least strike domestic deals for Pro League highlights with VRT, the Flemish-language public broadcaster in Belgium, and also with French-language Belgian public-service broadcaster, RTBF.
Elsewhere, DAZN will continue as the primary global broadcast rights-holder for Kings League, the digital-focused soccer venture launched by former Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué.
It was unveiled earlier this week that DAZN has acquired a swathe of Kings League rights for 2026, including for the Kings World Cup Nations event, taking place in Brazil between January 3 and 17.
The broadcaster will air that event globally, except in the US, Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, and Israel.
That event will be free-to-air in almost all other markets (excepting France).
In addition, DAZN will act as the domestic rights partner for the local Kings League competitions in Spain, Italy, and Germany, running between March and May.
Shay Segev, chief executive at DAZN Group, has commented: "DAZN is the ideal partner to grow the Kings League’s audience worldwide, due to our global reach, pioneering technology, and the power of our marketing engine.
"This agreement strengthens DAZN’s position as the ultimate destination for the most exciting football formats and complements our global football rights portfolio, which includes the world’s most popular leagues and competitions.”
