ESPN+ has picked up the rights to the Belgian Pro League in another coup for the streaming service that is fast becoming the destination for soccer in the United States.
Even though the current 2020/21 season is more than half over, there’s a growing interest in the Belgium Pro League given the number of Americans playing there. Currently, the Belgian Jupiler League features Americans Matt Miazga (Anderlecht), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Ethan Horvath (Brugge), Brendan Hines-Ike (Kortrijk) and Chris Durkin (Sint-Truidense).
This weekend, ESPN+ will broadcast its first three matches including STVV vs. Zulte Waregem on Saturday plus Sunday’s games featuring Standard Liege vs. Royal Antwerp as well as Charleroi and Club Brugge, all streamed live on ESPN+. Matches will be available in both English- and Spanish-language. ESPN is expected to feature up to three matches per gameweek on ESPN+, according to a MediaPro spokesman.
Speaking to World Soccer Talk, Belgium Pro League Chief Business Officer Leander Monbaliu said, “For the Pro League, the U.S. market is a key strategic market for further development in the upcoming seasons. The potential is huge and we are extremely proud of the five-year agreement with a premium broadcaster like ESPN in the region covering North, Central and South America, including the Caribbean. It will certainly boost our presence in the region, and we look forward to developing our product together with ESPN and Eleven in the upcoming years.”
Eleven Sports, MediaPro and Pro League worked together to sell the international distribution rights.
The Belgian league is seen as an excellent developmental league that offers footballers a chance to showcase their skills at a high level. Plus, with the top Belgium teams competing in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, the league can be the ideal stepping stone for footballers wanting to join bigger clubs throughout the European continent.
SEE MORE: Schedule of Belgian Pro League games on US TV and streaming
Founded in 1895, Belgium’s top-flight league includes several famous clubs such as Club Brugge, Anderlecht, Genk, Antwerp, and Standard Liege.
In previous seasons, the Belgium Pro League has bounced around a few different broadcasters in the United States including Eleven Sports most recently in 2017.
In addition to Belgium’s top league, ESPN+ also includes the Bundesliga, Serie A, UEFA Nations League, Championship, League One, League Two, FA Cup, League Cup, MLS, Leagues Cup, US Open Cup, USL, International Champions Cup, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, Eredivisie, Danish Superliga, Chinese Super League, Indian Super League, Australian A-League, Sweden’s Allsvenskan, and FA Community Shield.
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Dirk
February 28, 2021 at 10:31 am
As an expatriate living in California it will be nice to see full games from the home country and the teams I grew up with as a young footballer.. However, please do not refer to the league’s derbies or rivalries as “Classicos” keep that for Spanish teams it is “klassieker”. Thank you ESPN
Will
February 19, 2021 at 10:30 pm
This is great news ! Any news if Espn plans to show more than three games per match day? Would be nice to have more games
Victor Fernando
February 13, 2021 at 11:11 am
any chance of espn+ getting rights to Primeira Liga in Portugal?
Christopher Harris
February 13, 2021 at 11:20 am
GolTV just renewed their rights for the Primeira Liga last year for the next few seasons. More info here:
https://worldsoccertalk-wp.futbolsites.dev/2020/08/07/portugals-primeira-liga-agrees-to-goltv-rights-renewal-for-us-tv-market-says-source/
Nosferatu
February 12, 2021 at 3:03 pm
Someone else really needs to pick up those club channels! $10 a month definitely isn’t worth it for just those (it’s not like any Arsenal fan is going to also watch Spurs TV, so it’s a super-limited offering for the money).
Jasinho
February 12, 2021 at 2:21 pm
This is sweet, but I have a very dumb question:
B/R live used to have the Belgian as well as the Scottish league and all that seems on there for futbol is LFC TV, Spurs TV and Arsenal TV. Is B/R live on its way out when it comes to International Football? Im asking because I’ve posted on this site a while ago about the Premier League club tv channels needing to be on Peacock for supplemental PL coverage.
Christopher Harris
February 12, 2021 at 2:23 pm
Here’s the download on B/R Live:
https://worldsoccertalk-wp.futbolsites.dev/2020/07/14/what-happens-to-b-r-live-now-for-soccer-fans/
Michal
February 12, 2021 at 12:33 pm
So excited!! Mauves Army!!
The Hand of God
February 12, 2021 at 11:25 am
Belgian League has world feed voiced by Will Downing so there is no production cost.
Rights fee is cheap not just for the US, but for the Americas.
Disney is launching STAR+ (think Hulu & ESPN+ rolled into one) in Spanish-speaking Latin America next week.
All these niche leagues currently available on the ESPN App (formerly ESPN Play) in Spanish-speaking Latin America are moving to STAR+ for extra cost.
Walter
February 12, 2021 at 11:11 am
Brilliant! ESPN+ just gets better better..Many thanks for the news!
Mccort912
February 12, 2021 at 9:19 am
Another coup? Come on I know you like ESPN but lets not act like there was a huge bidding war for the Belgium Pro League.
JP
February 12, 2021 at 9:16 am
Nice! Will likely check out the Club Brugge match on Sunday as none of the ‘bigger’ leagues have anything too compelling in that window.
Real Madrid/Valencia, some Belgian football, then Inter/Lazio. Not bad.