#i'm passionate about viaplays downfall ok

[thetwelfthcrow]

this post is literally for me and like 5 dutch girlies only but i hate viaplay with soooo much of my body and i've been praying for their downfall daily and...

it's been working.

okay context for anyone who cares: ziggo used to own the rights to f1 in the NL. they didn't do a 10/10 job, but they were fun. the interviews are iconic, drivers just liked them, hell i still see clips/gifs with that bright orange ziggo mic every day. sure, jack asked questions that weren't always fitting and may have made drivers uncomfortable from time to time - my biggest annoyance w him - and olav wasn't flawless in his commentary. but they understood the most important thing in the content they made:

f1 is supposed to be entertaining.

i've said before - but that's a whole other post - that stefano domenicali should take this sport more seriously as a sport and that reporters should take it less seriously and see it as entertainment.

ziggo understood that. with formula one cafe before and after each race to talk with fellow dudes about the race: they knew people wanted to be entertained and they did that. there was beer on the table, champagne when max won the championship, they had a special dude to show everyone memes about f1, they had guys that truly understood f1 (former drivers like robert doornbos, giedo van de garde, tom and unfortunately tim coronel and some other dudes who came too rarely for me to remember names) or other types of motorsport (hello jeffrey herlings!) but mostly: they had fun. robert doornbos, guy w great sense of humour but also a big ego lmao, took the piss on host rob kampues who also took the piss on robert doornbos. they just didn't take everything too seriously: they provided entertainment.

now viaplay.

in comes viaplay, start of 2022 season. prices were €10 per month at the time. viaplay was new to everyone: it didn't exist in the NL prior to this. they, aside from f1, also barely had anything on their platform. bit by bit came shows, but, like, nothing too spectacular.

viaplay started off wrong on all accounts. where ziggo f1 cafe was a place with one long table where people sat, beer on the table, a bar in the background and a few people sitting all around (left photo), viaplay's studio looked horribly cold. bright bright lights (a hospital has a more cozy vibe) and the hosts were standing (right photo).

they also got the most humourless people. i mentioned giedo before and, sorry my guy, i've never caught you making a joke before. and christijan alberts - also former f1 driver - is soooo full of himself and also doesn't have a sense of humor. so anyway. i very quickly decided to only use viaplay for the race and turn it on not sooner than the formation lap and not later than 'we're going back to the studio' was even fully said.

eventually, they did move to a table where they sat at but the vibes were still all off. a fridge is warmer. a freezer is warmer. (before anyone comes at me: i like amber ok. she's doing her best. she's been given absolutely shit context to work in. she really rises to the occasion when she's with literally anyone else. that video with max and jos and mika and whatever? she was spicy there. so good. but noooo they but self-centered mansplainer christijan and can't make a joke giedo and ego too big for the room tim coronel next to her. can't expect someone to work when they've got broken tools ok).

they hire commentators who keep literally sucking max's dick in their commentaries. he cannot do anything wrong in their eyes. if he does they blame it on something else. look. olav wasn't objective, but he was just a man with a hobby who got a platform. christijan alberts who literally criticised ziggo for being too subjective about max is literally sitting at that desk in viaplay watching two guys with HORRIBLE voices* talk overly loving about max even when the guy just does his thing. hilarious.

*how! and i really emphasize how!!!! can you hire people with horrible voices when their PRIMARY TASK is to be listened to. why did no one think, huh. these guys are not pleasant to listen to. maybe we should NOT put them in the commentary box.

god i've never in the past year and a half seen, like, a clip from a viaplay interview bc the question was funny or the interviewer joked around. the drivers are funny on their own but when nothing sparks them we'll get the same answer in seven different interviews in the media pen that no one wants. let alone the drivers.

but those are things, like, sure. whatever.

then they added a sponsorship: i think a sports betting place. 'this broadcast was sponsored by' or whatever. i do not pay €10 per month to watch ads. i pay it to be ad free. it's the basis of a subscription.

why would they need ads, you ask?

well viaplay has terrible priorities. as seen before, but they chose one even worse priority.

they sponsor max, prominently.

that decision alone is fine! right. no issues there. but not when you can't really afford it. not at the expense of your subscribers. not when i would personally fund max's sponsorship. i'll buy merch ok! fuck off!

BUT NOW COMES THE FUN PART.

viaplay has been steadily losing subscribers! we love to hear it!

in 2022 they made a €60 million profit. in 2023 they're losing €570 million euros. losing. five hundred and seventy. million. they're firing a quarter of their employees.

gee! i wonder what choices you could make to better prioritise this and to keep bringing quality content you aim for and ---

they decide to rise their subscription prices.

€16 per month. that's a 60% raise (right?). bro.

and! they're cutting off all the other series they had on viaplay and now primarily focus on sport. they're closing their Polish, Canadian US and UK departments (you're not missing anything).

rumours had spread that maybe they'd need to sell the rights to f1 for 2024 but unfortunately they said that wasn't necessary. rn they still have 7 million subscribers. why are you people still subscribed. f1tv is cheaper and even there you can listen to the horrible voices of those two commentators who's names i never bothered to remember.

simplest thing for them would be to stop sponsoring max lmao. but they'll lose literally all relevance then so i doubt they ever will. cancelling and moving onto f1tv was the best decision i ever made. praying for their downfall too. can't wait to see my besties rob kamphues and certified cheater (but at least he's got a sense of humour!) robert doornbos talking about the race and jack plooij joking around with the dudes and olav mol being interrupted in his monologue because max decided to be a little shit again. they were passionate about the sport. everything they did lived and breathed the whole if-you-like-your-work-you'll-never-work-a-day-in-your-life thing. they had fun! jack plooij is a literal dentist who just likes f1 so he somehow rolled into the pit reporter job. rob kamphues is a comedian. they all had their love for f1 in common and were just fanboying on live television and that was fun.

i just miss ziggo man.

#zhalia's lil' chit chat #i'm passionate about viaplays downfall ok #f1 just isn't the same without ziggo. #viaplay #anti viaplay RAGE post