Until this year, Belgacom TV was able to offer its subscribers all of the major football matches in Belgium, while the rights to the summaries were held by the Flemish public broadcaster VRT. This year football authorities accepted new bids, making it clear they were looking for more than the €44.7 million Belgacom has paid for the full package of rights. In order to increase revenue, football authorities split the rights up into various packages.

The right to broadcast the three main matches on any match-day went to Belgacom rival Telenet. Belgacom retains the right to five other matches, while the summaries go to commercial channel VTM.

Telenet’s winning bid was €55.2 million a season for the next three seasons, a sum analysts were agreed would be impossible to recoup from football subscriptions alone, especially since the price does not take account of production costs. Belgacom paid €1 million for its share. However the football rights are considered by Telenet to be a loss-leader in convincing households to switch from Belgacom for their whole multimedia package: telephone, digital TV and internet.

The decision to split the rights means many football fans have to equip themselves with two decoders: one for the main matches and one for the subsidiary games – especially if the subscriber is a fan of a particular team, which could find itself in a different package from week to week. Café owners who screen matches are up in arms at how the sport has been split in two.

In Brussels, meanwhile, many fans will find themselves faced with the impossible. Telenet is only available in seven of the capital’s 19 municipalities; its French-language partner VOO is available in six more. In the remaining municipalities – Brussels City, Anderlecht, Molenbeek, Sint-Joost and Watermaal-Bosvoorde – neither of the two is available.

Belgacom’s decision to give away its football for free – something not economically possible for Telenet – suggest the rights awards announced last week may only be the start of a long and difficult road to find a solution for the nation’s football fans.