Broadcaster had announced it was going to halt agreement 

DAZN stadium

DAZN has been ordered by Belgium’s Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (Cepani) to honour is Pro League rights deal until the summer. 

The broadcaster must continue to paying its rights fees and broadcasting the league until the end of the season, or it will be liable for a a fine of up to €50,000 (£43,454) per day. 

The original deal was agreed in December last year for 2025/26 to 2029/30 was worth €84.2 million per year. This was substantially down on the previous rights deal, which was signed in 2020 with Eleven Sports (now part of DAZN) and was then worth €103 million a year.

DAZN had announced its intention to end this contract in November, after unsuccesfully attemping to partner with other media outlets (including Orange and Telenet) to show selected live Pro League matches. At the time, Massimo D’Amario, managing director of DAZN Belgium, said: “We are disappointed to have reached a situation where, despite various attempts to resolve the situation, DAZN has no alternative but to observe the extinction of the contract under Belgian law.”

Following the ruling, D’Amario said: “It is important to emphasise that these provisional measures, including on interim payments, do not pass any judgment on DAZN’s legal position in the ongoing dispute with the Pro League.

“DAZN remains convinced that the Cepani arbitration panel that will be constituted in the coming weeks will rule that the original contract ended lawfully. DAZN expects the arbitration panel to rule also on important issues of compliance with competition law.” 

“DAZN remains available and willing to reach balanced agreements that guarantee the necessary stability within a viable commercial framework.”

Meanwhile, Lorin Parys, the CEO of the Pro League, said: “We are satisfied that Dazn must honour its commitments regarding, among other things, production, distribution, payments and negotiations with telecom operators. The winners of this ruling are our fans, our clubs and Belgian football as a whole.”