About Eredivisie
History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage
The Eredivisie (Premier Division) is the top level of men’s professional football in the Netherlands. Founded in 1956, and organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) the league operates on a round-robin format, meaning that each team plays each other twice (home and away) over the course of the season.
Like its counterparts in Europe and in many places around the world, the Eredivisie uses the relegation-promotion model, with the two teams at the bottom of the table being relegated to the Eerste Divisie (First Division), while the winner and runners-up of the Eerste Divisie secure automatic promotion to the Eredivisie.
The winner and runners-up of the Eredivisie at the end of each season earn the right to compete in the UEFA Champions League group stages, while the winner of the KNVB Cup, regardless of position in the table, secures a ticket to the UEFA Europa League group stages.
Ajax are the most successful club in Eredivisie history, with more titles won than any other side, followed by PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord. The three teams, nicknamed the “Big Three” by Dutch football fans, have won the overwhelming majority of Eredivisie titles dating back to 1965.
In the Netherlands, public broadcaster NOS have covered the Eredivisie since the league’s inception in 1956. From 2008 to 2013, Fox Sports Eredivisie held the exclusive paid TV broadcast rights for the Eredivisie. However, in 2014, ESPN acquired media rights with Fox Sports eventually being folded into ESPN after the network’s parent company, Walt Disney Company, acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019.
Meanwhile, in the USA, ESPN first acquired US broadcast and live-streaming rights for the Eredivisie in 2013 and has subsequently renewed its deal on multiple occasions to extend this arrangement until around 2029.
