The Dutch Eredivisie announced today on its Eredivisie Live website that Fox International Channels has bought a 51 percent stake in Eredivisie Marketing and Media in a deal approved by the member clubs, KNVB (the Dutch FA) and TV partner Endemol. The EMM was founded in 2008 and has been the operator of television channel Eredivisie Live in the Netherlands. The deal has not yet been approved by the Dutch Competition Authority according to the article. Meanwhile, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf is reporting in its own article that Fox has bought the television rights for the Eredivisie in a deal valued at over 1 billion euros over 12 seasons beginning in 2013/14, the largest such deal in league history. There's no official indication yet as to what rights (if any) outside of the Netherlands the deal may include. The article makes it a point to note that Fox is a US network, but the article translation I got (which I admit is not the best) doesn't specify a selling of US rights for the league. Articles (both are in their Dutch originals): Eredivisie Live- http://eredivisielive.nl/nieuws/699...zich-aan-bij-eredivisie-media--marketing.html De Telegraaf- http://www.telegraaf.nl/telesport/voetbal/nationaal/12711627/__MURDOCH_KOOPT_TV-RECHTEN__.html
ESPN, Inc. currently holds U.S. video rights to the Dutch Eredivisie via a deal with IMG Sports Media. One match each week live at ESPN3.com in English, and either live or tape-delayed on ESPN Deportes in Spanish. IMG Sports Media holds all video distribution rights to the Dutch Eredivisie outside the Netherlands, including highlights to be distributed to news organizations via SNTV.
Appears to me that NewsCorp wants to control domestic video rights to the Eredivisie. International rights to the Eredivisie are worth practically nothing in most markets.
Livesport.tv offers an official Eredivisie package. It is powered by Perform http://www.eredivisie.livesport.tv/
Livesport.tv tends to a lot of business with IMG Sports Media, judging by the products it offers. It has U.S. streaming video rights to the Eredivisie, presumably because ESPN Inc. didn't pay much if anything for the 1 match each week it offers. Everything changes starting with the 2013-2014 season with NewsCorp getting involved.
Out of curiosity, is there a difference in rights between live and replay? Can a broadcaster only have the right to show something live and/or replay or do they go hand-in-hand?