DAZN has immediately terminated its broadcasting contract for Belgium’s top-tier football league, leaving upcoming matches without guaranteed television coverage and sparking an urgent legal challenge from the Pro League.
The sudden move means the 16th round of matches, scheduled to begin this Friday, currently has no assured internal transmission.
The Pro League has filed an urgent request with the Brussels arbitration court. It seeks to compel DAZN to fulfill its contractual obligations to Belgian clubs until a decision is reached.
“The Pro League requests that DAZN be obliged to fulfill its contractual provisions towards the Belgian clubs until a decision is reached,” the league stated. “For fans and clubs, this would mean that the production and transmission of the competitions would be guaranteed.”
DAZN ended the contract because it could not finalize agreements with telecom operators Orange, Proximus, and Telenet. The streaming platform was contractually required to ensure transmission through at least two operators to maximize viewer reach.
During the public tender, DAZN had committed to investing approximately $91.5 million for the rights. This figure was lower than the approximately $111.8 million value of the previous contract signed in 2020.
DAZN Belgium’s operations director commented on the situation. “No company should be forced to operate at a loss. It’s not a sustainable business,” the director said.
The company stated it remains “open to new discussions” and will keep its customers informed. If no agreement is reached, DAZN may launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service in Belgium. This approach was previously taken in France after DAZN rescinded its Ligue 1 contract there.