Belgium Probes Play Sports Pricing After €15 Football Hike
Belgian Minister for Consumer Protection Rob Beenders has formally requested an investigation into the pricing of Play Sports, Telenet’s sports channel, following a sudden €15 per month increase for football league content. The minister has referred the matter to both the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) and the Belgian Competition Authority to examine whether the price hike is justified, VRT NWS reported.
The Price Increase
Football fans who want to watch Belgian and English football through Telenet this summer are paying significantly more than two years ago. A combined Play Sports + DAZN Total subscription now costs €34.99 per month, compared to approximately €20 per month two years ago—a 75 percent increase.
“It cannot be that people who today have little or no alternative suddenly have to pay 15 euros more per month to watch the same football competitions,” Beenders said, as Business AM reported.
Telenet offers several subscription formulas for sports content. A standalone Play Sports subscription costs €19.99 per month but does not include the Jupiler Pro League. Access to Belgian football requires DAZN Total at €24.99 per month, while the combined Play Sports + DAZN Total package is priced at €34.99 per month.
Background: The DAZN Broadcasting Rights Saga
The current situation stems from a complex broadcasting rights dispute that began in 2025. DAZN, a British streaming platform, had secured the media rights to Belgian professional football but declared its TV contract invalid in late November 2025, claiming it couldn’t find a commercially viable deal with traditional cable operators. Belgian football was only available through the DAZN app during the 2025-2026 season, frustrating many fans.
At the end of July 2026, the Jupiler Pro League and DAZN reached a new agreement, allowing Proximus, Orange, and Telenet to once again offer the full Pro League, as Voetbalnieuws detailed in its coverage of the saga.
Investigation Scope
Beenders is asking the BIPT to advise on whether the current price and the increase compared to two years ago are justified. The Competition Authority is being asked to examine whether the way football content is offered and bundled with telecom services causes competition problems, according to Voetbalkrant.
“If it turns out that Telenet strategically deploys its football content from its strong position in the telecom market, both consumers and competitors could become the victims,” Beenders said. “Football may be a popular form of entertainment, but it cannot be a free pass to make consumers without real alternatives pay significantly more.”
Telenet’s Response
Telenet has said it takes note of the minister’s statements and will contact his cabinet to discuss the matter. The company emphasizes the importance of debating based on full facts and current market reality, as Voetbalbelgie reported.
“We note that recent reporting does not always reflect the full context and sometimes makes comparisons between situations that are difficult to compare one-to-one,” a Telenet spokesperson said. “At the same time, the sports rights market has evolved strongly in recent years, with new international players, rights structures and business models.”
Broader Market Context
According to CallMePower’s analysis, the minimum cost to watch Belgian football on TV from August 2026 is €25 per month across all operators. No operator offers Belgian football separately—it is always bundled with other premium content such as European competitions, NFL, NBA, or boxing.
This is the second investigation into Telenet pricing by Minister Beenders in 2026. In April, he launched an investigation into Telenet’s internet price increases after the company raised its cheapest internet subscription from €36 to €56 per month—a 56 percent increase. Tweakers reported that Beenders stated: “The consumer is not a cash cow. Companies must handle pricing correctly and transparently, especially when it comes to essential services like internet and telephony.”
What’s Next
The investigation will examine whether Telenet’s pricing strategy exploits its dominant position in the Belgian telecom market, where it holds between 30-40 percent of the fixed market and is often the only provider capable of delivering fast internet via its coax network. The outcome could have broader implications for how telecom operators package sports content with their services across Belgium.
As the new football season gets underway with Belgian football available on all major operators again, consumers and competitors alike will be watching closely to see whether the regulatory scrutiny leads to concrete changes in pricing or serves primarily as a political signal of a more activist consumer protection stance by the Belgian government.