Flanders sets the rules for the allocation of broadcasting …

The Flemish Government established, by a decree of September 25, 2026, the conditions and procedure for obtaining a broadcasting network operator license as well as the corresponding transmission authorizations. The text was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on October 2, 2026, page 52764, under reference [C − 2026/007018]. The license is issued for a duration of fifteen years.

A Revised Statutory Framework

The decree was proposed by the Flemish Minister for Brussels and Media, C. Van Achter, and signed by the Minister-President of the Flemish Government, M. Diependaelle. It is based on the Decree of March 27, 2009, relating to radio and television broadcasting (Articles 193, § 3, 196, 201, § 1, paragraph 2, 202, paragraph 2, and 218) and the Special Law of August 8, 1980, on institutional reforms.

The official justification cites the Decree of July 10, 2026, amending the Decree of March 27, 2009, regarding sound broadcasting organizations, which establishes the DAB+ model and assigns frequency usage rights to licensed broadcasting organizations rather than network providers. Consequently, the decree of July 18, 2008, relating to the provision of a radio and television broadcasting network, is repealed.

The following formalities have been completed:

budgetary approval granted on April 19, 2026;
consultation of interested parties from May 7 to June 8, 2026;
opinion of the Media Sectoral Council of the Strategic Advisory Council for Culture, Youth and Media on May 21, 2026;
opinion of the Council of State No. 79.760/1/V of August 25, 2026.

Call for Applications and Timeline

The Flemish minister responsible for media shall publish a call for applications in the Belgian Official Gazette, specifying the set of frequency channels concerned. Applications, written in Dutch, are to be addressed to the Flemish Media Regulator by registered mail, email, or any other means of telecommunication that leaves a written record.

submission of applications: no later than sixty days after the publication of the call;
admissibility: decision by the regulator within thirty days following the expiration of this period;
allocation: notification of the first-ranked candidate within one hundred and twenty days from the publication of the call;
acceptance: seven days to expressly accept the license and its requirements.

If only one applicant is admissible, the license is granted immediately, without comparative evaluation.

Comparative Criteria and Fee

In the event of multiple applications, files are compared based on seven criteria, including the optimal use and implementation of frequency channels and guarantees of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure. These two criteria each account for 20%; the other five — technical means, financial resources, areas served, deployment schedule, and broadcast quality — account for 12% each.

The holder pays an annual fee composed of three amounts:

350 euros per commissioned installation point;
2% of the gross revenue bracket between 12,000,000 and 20,000,000 euros;
5% of the gross revenue bracket exceeding 20,000,000 euros.

Payment occurs no later than April 30 of the year following the one to which the fee relates, accompanied by a certificate from a company auditor. The amounts are indexed to the price index of January 2026. Modifying a broadcast authorization costs 350 euros; the initial authorization is free of charge.

Sanctions and transitional regime

The regulator may suspend or cancel the license in the event of non-compliance with the decree of March 27, 2009, or the order, following a formal notice giving the holder thirty days to regularize the situation. The license may be canceled if all assigned channels are not commissioned within two years. No fees paid shall be refunded.

Licenses and broadcast authorizations granted under the order of July 18, 2008, remain in force under the conditions in which they were granted, with the exception of articles 13, 21, and 25 of the new text.

Scope

For telecom and media operators active in Flanders, the text sets a tight schedule — sixty days to apply, one hundred and twenty to know the ranking — and a recurring cost proportional to turnover. It secures existing holders, whose current licenses are maintained, while subjecting them to the new fee and suspension rules.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette of October 2, 2026, p. 52764, [C − 2026/007018] — Order of the Flemish Government of September 25, 2026, on the conditions and procedure for obtaining a broadcasting network operator license and the corresponding broadcast authorizations.