Dutch competition authority approves investment in Eredivisie Live

Sportcal reports that NMa, the Dutch competition authority, has approved the investment in Eredivisie Live, the subscription television channel of Dutch soccer’s top-tier league, by Fox International Channels, a subsidiary of News Corporation’s Fox Entertainment Group. FIC made a major move into sports broadcasting in the Netherlands earlier this year when it agreed to acquire a 51-per-cent stake in Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV, the league’s media and marketing arm that owns and operates Eredivisie Live.

That deal has now been approved by NMa, allowing Raymond van der Vliet, managing director of FIC’s Benelux operation, to also join the management of Eredivisie Media & Marketing. The investment by FIC, which is worth €80 million ($104 million) per season to Dutch soccer over 12 years, had already been approved unanimously by the 18 Eredivisie clubs, along with Eredivisie Live stakeholders Endemol, the Dutch media and entertainment group, and the KNVB, the Dutch soccer federation.

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