According to our information, it is not planned that a vote on the offers of television actors – opened in recent days – will take place this Wednesday. That said, we would remain confident in the possibility of fetching an amount at least similar to that of 2020. All these beautiful people will probably decide to go further in the discussion with certain operators. Just to get the most out of your money.
What amount to expect?
Five years after a contract which exceeded the symbolic bar of 100 million euros – 103, on average, per season – this is a new “tender” with another division of prizes. Three lots for D1, including exclusive meetings and other non-exclusive ones, were proposed. Will this new structure make it possible to attract other players and, therefore, accumulate more checks to exceed the amount of the 2020 contract? This is the 100 million question, obviously, knowing that the call for tenders concerns not only the elite championship, but that there are also other lots for the D2, the Belgian Cup, the Super Cup, the women’s D1. And, also, a Sunday evening magazine, another on Monday and, for the first time, radio rights which will be paid for.
The most optimistic managers dream of one day reaching €120 million, an increase of 20% in revenues, but this does not seem very realistic in view of the market (see the next point). Receiving €103 million again would not be a bad thing, while the audiovisual sector is not necessarily in a golden period. Of course, the hope of having a new actor exists, but the large streaming platforms such as Netflix or Prime focus instead on major sporting events. That said, one of the products included in the call for tenders is designed for them: an immersion documentary in the clubs.
How are media rights distributed? Here are all the amounts received by the clubs for 2023-24
The big question for the viewer will be whether it will now be necessary to have subscriptions to different providers, “telcos” or streaming platforms to be able to watch all the championship matches, as was the case a few years ago.
And elsewhere in Europe?
After years of inflating, the bubble is no longer growing and is even shrinking. The market trend is downward in many neighboring countries.
In Ligue 1, rights have fallen drastically, from 800 million to around €500 million per season. Other championships were also disillusioned: the Bundesliga experienced a slight decline in 2021 (1.1 billion instead of 1.2). Serie A no longer receives “only” €900 million per season on average compared to €927 million before.
Even the English exception is no longer above ground since the Premier League saw its rights stagnate (+ 4%) during the new 2023 contract.
Of course, the Dutch exception gave ideas to many Belgian club leaders. Eredivisie rights increased from €80 million to €135 million in a five-year deal with ESPN, starting in 2025.
What distribution between clubs?
It will be the following question: how to distribute this money between all the Belgian clubs? And that won’t be the easiest part. As proof, a “distribution key” working group has been set up and will present its first conclusions this Wednesday. All the actors have already said directly or indirectly that they hope to earn more than before. Bruges president Bart Verhaeghe admitted in Flemish newspapers that the Club could negotiate its rights alone if necessary. Would he take action if he considers himself poorly paid?
Others have indicated that they would like audiences to count towards these revenues, which is currently not the case. They may well have been heard. In any case, if the cake is not more generous, it looks complicated.
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