Dutch public broadcaster NOS has renewed its television highlights and radio broadcasting agreement with Eredivisie Media and Marketing for a further five years, extending its coverage of Dutch professional football through the 2031-32 season.
The renewed agreement replaces an existing contract scheduled to expire after the 2026-27 season, ensuring NOS retains its position as a key free-to-air broadcaster of domestic football in the Netherlands. Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Under the arrangement, NOS will continue broadcasting television highlights, including its weekend programme, NOS Studio Sport Eredivisie, which covers every match in the competition. It will also retain live radio coverage through NOS Langs de Lijn on NPO Radio 1.
A significant addition to the agreement is the acquisition of broader online and social media highlight rights covering both the men’s and women’s Eredivisie, as well as the second-tier Eerste Divisie.
The expanded rights package gives NOS greater control over the distribution of league highlights across its digital platforms and social media channels, extending the public broadcaster’s role beyond traditional television and radio coverage.
The agreement also reflects a more defined division of football broadcasting rights in the Netherlands. ESPN holds the domestic live broadcasting rights through 2030, while telecommunications operator KPN retains online highlights rights until the 2029-30 season.
With NOS securing the broader free-to-air television, radio and social media highlights package, the league’s commercial inventory is distributed across three separate broadcasting partners.
The inclusion of digital and social media rights is particularly significant, as short-form football content increasingly plays a role in audience engagement, online distribution and the commercial value of sports properties.
For African football leagues, broadcasters and rights holders, the NOS agreement offers an important reference point in ongoing discussions about the ownership and commercialisation of digital highlights.
In many African markets, social media clips and short-form match content are not always treated as distinct commercial rights categories during broadcasting negotiations. These rights may instead be left undefined or effectively conceded to digital platforms as part of broader promotional arrangements.
NOS’s five-year agreement demonstrates how a public broadcaster can secure specific distribution rights across television, radio and social media, ensuring that access to league content extends beyond live match coverage.
As African leagues review their domestic broadcasting agreements, the Dutch model highlights the importance of clearly defining digital highlights, social distribution and platform usage within future rights packages.
