SBS 9 will be renamed to Viaplay TV and will start broadcasting sports matches, films and series from the Viaplay streaming service from April 5. Talpa and Viaplay have entered into an agreement to this end.
Viaplay TV will show a ‘selection’ from Viaplay’s sports offering, including Formula 1 races, darts from the Professional Darts Corporation and football matches from the English Premier League and German Bundesliga. Talpa reports that the sports offering will be expanded in the future. In addition to sporting events, Viaplay TV also continues to broadcast series and films from both national and international makers. All sports content shown on the channel will remain available on Viaplay.
Viaplay informed NOS that not all Formula 1 races are shown on Viaplay TV. The races will also be shown on the channel at a later time. For example, the upcoming Formula 1 race in Japan starts at 7 a.m., but will not be broadcast on Viaplay TV until 1 p.m.
Viaplay, which has the broadcasting rights for the current Formula 1 season in the Netherlands, suffered a net loss of 872 million euros in 2023, while it achieved a net profit of 28 million euros in 2022. The financial problems have led to cost-saving measures. Viaplay’s monthly subscription will also become more expensive from May 22.
