de Mol completes Eredivisie rightsdeal

Dutch media mogul John de Mol, the former owner of Endemol, has out-bided Canal Plus in the tender launched by the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KVNB). de Mol acquired the rights through Versatel (41.7% holdings) in a three-year deal, reported €30.5m value. Versatel recently also signed a long-term agreement with the KVNB to be the sponsor and Official Telecommunications Supplier. In addition, de Mol already owns the rights to the free-to-air highlights coverage of the Dutch league and the away fixtures of the national team, through his Talpa investment vehicle. The last deals approved the speculations of de Mol’s renewed interest in football coverage. de Mol, one of the world’s leading TV producers, has abandoned the Dutch football in 1996 in course of the collapse of Sport7, a subscription-based cable sports channel that acquired the Eredivisie rights and collapsed within a few months.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.