Disney+, the media and entertainment giant, has secured exclusive rights to broadcast the top-tier UEFA Champions League, second-tier Europa League, and third-tier Conference League in Belgium for the 2027-31 cycle. This landmark deal marks a significant shift in sports broadcasting within the country.
The trio of men's UEFA pan-European club soccer competitions will be available on Disney+'s streaming service during this period. This move is expected to significantly boost Disney+'s subscriber base among Belgian sports fans.
However, under Belgian legislation, home games involving Belgian teams are listed as protected events that must be covered Free-to-Air (FTA) domestically. Therefore, Disney+ will need to find an FTA broadcast partner for these fixtures.
Previous broadcasters and competing teams
In recent years, Club Brugge and Union Saint-Gilloise have represented Belgium in the UCL season 2025-26. Club Brugge notably advanced past the initial group stage before succumbing to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid over two legs.
The ongoing 2025-26 UCL is being aired by a combination of VTM (Dutch-language FTA), RTL (French-language FTA), Telenet and Proximus telecom firms on a pay-TV basis. The Europa League and Conference League are currently covered by VRT and RTBF (both FTA), Telenet exclusively for Dutch-language coverage, along with pay-TV's BeTV.
UEFA initiated its tender process for these rights through its partner agency Relevent Sports' dedicated arm - Relevent Football Partners - early March this year with submissions closing on April 21st. Simultaneously separate processes were launched across multiple countries including Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria among others. Rights allocation has already been completed in Europe's 'Big Five' markets - the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France. These were the first tender processes managed by US agency Relevent after replacing UEFA’s longstanding sales partner Team Marketing in late 2024.
Disney+'s growing sports portfolio
Disney+ already holds rights across Europe to the UEFA Women's Champions League matches for 2025-2030 period including Belgium. The service covers all 75 UWCL games each season while also producing additional content.
This new deal further solidifies Disney+'s position as a major player in sports broadcasting. It is expected to provide an enhanced viewing experience for Belgian sports fans and potentially revolutionize how soccer competitions are consumed in the country.
