Talpa has acquired the rights to the Spanish Primera Soccer Division for the coming three seasons. An additional agreement was concluded with the digital television channel Sport1 for the sharing of the Dutch market rights to six of the major European soccer competitions plus the English FA Cup. The agreement covers all matches from the German Bundesliga, the Spanish Primera Division, the Italian Series A, the Portuguese SuperLiga, the French Ligue 1, the Scottish Premier League and the English FA Cup.

Until recently, the television rights to these competitions were owned separately by the two parties. The present agreement creates a program range that is easily identifiable for soccer fans. All top games from the European top leagues mentioned will be televised live on Sport1, while Talpa is to televise the extended highlights.

Ronald Goes, Talpa TV’s Managing Director, says, “These European leagues are a marvellous addition to our Dutch soccer package, which already contains the Dutch Premier League, the Jupiler League, the Dutch Cup, the Dutch national team’s away-matches and the matches of Young Orange, the Dutch national under-twenties team. From next weekend, on Saturday nights starting at 6 p.m., we will revive ‘old times’ with a complete overview of the week’s German League matches. From next week we will, on Sundays at the end of the evening, offer viewers visits to nearly all the major European soccer pitches. That way, true soccer afficionados will no longer have to search. The whole year round they will be able to turn to Talpa for the most complete soccer overview.”

Jeroen Bergman, the CEO of chellomedia Benelux, the owner of Sport1. “As the only TV channel in the Netherlands, Sport1 will offer a total overview of all European soccer competitions, including the Champions League and the English Premier League”, according to “All top games will be televised live by Sport1, offering 8 channels on digital cable showing 8 different matches. This will give soccer fans the possibility of making their own choices. The agreement gives Sport1 the exclusive rights in the Netherlands to all the live matches played in the competitions involved.”

Talpa TV
Talpa TV is part of Talpa Media Holding. The most visible components of the company are the television channel Talpa and its Dutch radio division Talpa Radio, including Radio 538, Radio 10 Gold, Juize.FM and the Radio Digitaal platform. In addition, Talpa Media comprises separate divisions for music and the development of content, including television. Talpa Productions and Talpa Digital are the two most recent company components. Talpa Productions develops different programs for its own channel. Talpa Digital is working on new internet and mobile platforms apart from radio and TV. It also develops crossmedia formats and enhances existing formats with new applications.

Sport1
Sport1 is a Pay TV channel of chellomedia, the European content and digital services division of Liberty Global, Inc. Sport1 is a 24 hour sports channels, with a wide range of live sports programs. It offers maximally eight simultaneous sports channels, enabling viewers to decide for themselves which matches to follow. Sport1’s range of programs comprises all major European soccer leagues, apart from the UEFA Champions League, the English FA Cup and the Copa Libertadores. Other sports include field hockey, basketball, baseball, darts, golf and tennis. From June onward, Sport1 will operate an HDTV channel without extra charge. Viewers can receive Sport1 by taking out a subscription to the services of a cable operator or satellite television provider. Website: http://www.sport1.nl/.