Viaplay Xtra
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast areaUnited Kingdom,
Republic of Ireland
Programming
Picture format1080i, 16:9 (HDTV)
Ownership
OwnerViaplay Group
Sister channelsViaplay Sports 1
Viaplay Sports 2
History
Launched31 August 2017 as FreeSports
ReplacedFreeSports
Premier Sports
Closed25 January 2024
Links
Websiteviaplay.com/gb-en
freesports.tv
Availability
Streaming media
Freesports PlayerWatch live
Now TVWatch live (Ireland only)
Former FreeSports logo

Viaplay Xtra was a British sports television channel operated and owned by Viaplay Group.

History

Further information: Timeline of Viaplay Sports

Viaplay Xtra launched as FreeSports on 31 August 2017 and was closed down on 25 January 2024 with the aim to provide free-to-air sports coverage and become a top three dedicated sports channel in the UK.[1] It was available on all major platforms, available in 18 million UK homes. The channel held a partnership with rights holders IMG, MP & Silva, Lagardère Group, Pitch International and Infront Sports & Media. It was a sister channel of Premier Sports. FreeSports released a statement in February 2018 revealing that it would go high-definition (HD) on Sky in summer 2018, however, the channel only remained available in standard definition. In May 2019, a move to HD on Sky UK was set for 15 July 2019.[2]

The channel launched on Virgin Media channel 553 on 21 July 2018. A temporary duplicate launched on channel 130 on Virgin Media at midnight on 22 July 2018, a slot previously vacated by Alibi +1 prior to the UKTV channels' removals, until the network was restored on 11 August 2018. On 25 September 2018, the channel launched in high definition on Virgin Media.[3] The HD version replaced the SD version on Freesat and Sky on 15 July 2019,[4] and the SD version ceased broadcasts on satellite completely a couple weeks later.[5]

In 2019, FreeSports was made available via STV Player, the streaming service of Scottish broadcaster STV.[6] Viewers could watch a live-stream of the channel,[7] as well as view a selection of programmes on demand.[8] FreeSports was removed from STV Player in 2021.

On 8 January 2020, FreeSports was removed from Sky in Ireland. La Liga TV launched on 13 January 2020 on the same channel throughout the UK and Ireland.

On 30 June 2020, FreeSports was removed from Freesat due to fee disagreements.[9]

On 20 July 2021, eir Sport 2 closed on all providers in Ireland. On Sky, it was on channel 422. On 27 July 2021. FreeSports was added to the EPG on Sky in Ireland in its place.[10]

Alongside CBS Justice and Forces TV, FreeSports was removed from the Freeview platform on 30 June 2022.[11]

On 21 July 2022, Viaplay Group announced that it has acquired Premier Sports and Freesports and stated its intention to rebrand the channels as Viaplay Sports network and the new owners renamed Freesports to Viaplay Xtra on 1 November 2022.[12][13][14]

On 19 January 2024, it was announced that the channel would close on 25 January.[15]

Coverage

FreeSports aimed to be majority live, with over 1000 events a year, for an average of 10 hours per day. Numerous sports were broadcast, including association football, combat sports, ice hockey, tennis, rugby league, rugby union, basketball, cricket, Ultimate Pool and snooker.[1]

Football

The first match shown live was a 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier between the Netherlands and England on 1 September 2017.[16] The channel also initially showed live coverage of the Primeira Liga (two games a week) & Segunda División (one game a week)[17] as well as numerous club TV shows, including Dortmund TV and AC Milan TV.[17] The channel also shows weekly highlights from the National League.[18]

In 2019, FreeSports began airing Eredivisie and Serie A fixtures until 2021 alongside Premier Sports following the decline of online streaming service Eleven Sports, prior to securing rights to Major League Soccer (alongside Premier Sports (2019 only) and Sky Sports) until 2022.[19][20][21] They also sealed exclusive rights to the 2018–19 Coupe de France from the quarter-final stage.[22] In May, FreeSports secured rights for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2019 Toulon Tournament, the 2019 Copa América (encore and highlights only) and the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[23][24][25]

In February 2020, FreeSports also added rights to the Japanese J-league after securing rights in the previous year to the Chinese Super League.[26] In May, FreeSports added two European football rights: the Polish Ekstraklasa (until 2020–21) and Danish Superliga.[27] FreeSports later confirmed it would broadcast the Primeira Liga in July along with the 2020 Taça de Portugal Final between the Portuguese O Clássico rivals Benfica and Porto on 1 August. From 27 November, the channel started showing matches from the 2020–21 Indian Super League season.[28] In December, FreeSports began to broadcast Brazil's Série A; kicking off with Flamengo vs. Santos and Corinthians vs. São Paulo on 13 December.[29] They also added Copa del Rey, with Premier Sports, and CONCACAF Champions League football that month.[30]

In 2022, the channel showed matches from that year's AFC Women's Asian Cup and EMF EURO (minifootball).[31][32]

Ice hockey

The National Hockey League fronts the channel's ice hockey coverage with three games a week. Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin made the announcement on the channel's Twitter account.[33] However, the first live coverage of Ice Hockey was between Nottingham Panthers and Mountfield HK in the 2017–18 Champions Hockey League.[34] As well as NHL and CHL, the IIHF and SHL will also be shown live, while the Spengler Cup semi-finals and final will also be screened.[1] The Ice Hockey World Championships are expected to be shown on FreeSports including live coverage of games featuring Great Britain.

In March 2018, it was announced that FreeSports would be televising the KHL Playoffs throughout March & April and later announced it had a 2-year extension to televise live KHL from the 2018–2019 season onwards.

On 20 July 2018 FreeSports and the EIHL struck a deal that will see a live game shown every two weeks which will also feature highlights, starting with the forthcoming 2018/19 campaign.[35]

Motorsport

NASCAR featured on the channel, which broadcast the 2018 Daytona 500: the first time the event was shown on free to air television in the UK.[36] FreeSports also shows the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series showing live as well as highlights of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.[1] Also live on the channel are Australian V8 Supercars, Swedish and Polish Speedway. There are also highlights of Monster Jam, Arenacross, Formula D, Brisca Stock Car Racing and the FIA World Rallycross Championship. In 2020, the race also aired on sister channel Premier Sports.

Pool

In February 2018, the International Professional Pool Association (IPA), FreeSports Champions Cup (Blackball) was televised live on FreeSports over the course of three days and was won by Ben Davies. Following this, the IPA FreeSports Pool Cup began on 12 February 2018, with the aim of finding Britain's best Blackball pool player.

In 2019, the IPA world championship was broadcast. It started on Thursday to Saturday 7–9 February, with the final being contested between Marc Farnsworth of England and Tom Cousins from Wales.

Professional wrestling

5 Star Wrestling was broadcast live on FreeSports from January to March 2018, featuring an array of British and American wrestling talent. During the first twelve shows in the UK wide arena tour, many high-profile wrestlers were on the roster including Rob Van Dam, Rey Mysterio, Zack Gibson, John Morrison, Jack Hager, Adam Maxted, Carlito, Chris Masters and Eddie Ryan.[37]

On 5 April 2019, it was announced that FreeSports and Major League Wrestling (MLW) reached an agreement to broadcast MLW Fusion on the network.[38]

On 2 October 2020, Premier Sports announced a new partnership with Impact Wrestling that will see FreeSports broadcast episodes of Impact's weekly programme, Impact!, every Wednesday. The partnership will also see Premier Sports broadcast future Impact pay-per-views and special events, starting with Victory Road on delay on 6 October. [39]

Rugby league

The channel features delayed coverage of Toronto Wolfpack games in The Championship and, in conjunction with RugbyAM, live games from the National Conference League.[40] Last year the channel had covered the National Rugby League.[1] However the rights passed to Sky Sports for the 2018 season. The channel had also screened some games from the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

Rugby Union

FreeSports showed Autumn internationals including France & Italy matches and is currently showing live BUCS Rugby matches.

On 30 April 2018, Premier Sports announced they have signed a landmark partnership to broadcast every game from the Guinness PRO14 live in high-definition across the UK for at least the next three years, with no less than 21 games (one per round) shown live free-to-air on FreeSports.[41]

Snooker

Snooker was shown on FreeSports, beginning with the 2020 Championship League and then following up with continued televised coverage of the 2021 Championship League. The channel was the primary television broadcaster in the UK and Ireland for the Championship League, where previously it had only been available via betting websites.

Cricket

Other Sports

Twenty-five events from the ATP World Tour 250 series, FEI Nations Cup (show jumping), Liga Española de Baloncesto (Spanish basketball), EuroLeague (European basketball), Drone Champions League, World Weightlifting Championships, Crankworx World Tour.[1] Live coverage of major events in the French horse-racing calendar began with the meeting at Chantilly on 10 September 2017. FreeSports also showed boxing roughly once a month on a Friday featuring bouts promoted by Neilson Boxing.

Previous coverage

Football

In 2018, FreeSports held selected rights for the Copa do Brasil, while they also showed both Copa Libertadores Finals between the Argentine Superclásico rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate; in simulcast with BT Sport.[43][44]

A year later, the Copa Libertadores final coverage is moved to BBC Sport.[45]

Combat sport

Basketball

The British Basketball League (BBL) signed a deal with FreeSports in January 2018 to broadcast a number of games during the remainder of the 2017–2018 season.[47] The first game broadcast on the channel was the BBL Trophy Final between Worcester Wolves v Cheshire Phoenix. Other live Spanish basketball on the channel is ACB Basketball from the Copa Del Rey series.

Cricket

The channel broadcast live coverage of the 2017 Bangladesh Premier League tournament and live coverage of 2020–21 Nepal Tri-Nation Series

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "About FreeSports". FreeSports. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  2. ^ "FreeSports has exciting news today as we will officially launch in HD on Sky UK on July 15th!". FreeSports. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  3. ^ "New Channels – Virgin Media Community". Virgin Media Community. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  4. ^ "We are now HD on Sky UK (422) and @freesat_tv (252)". FreeSports. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Change Log - KingOfSat".
  6. ^ "STV announces new partnership with Premier Sports". STV Group. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  7. ^ "STV Player – Channels – FreeSports". STV Player. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  8. ^ "STV Player – Sport". STV Player. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  9. ^ Goren, Or (2 July 2020). "FreeSports Removed From Freesat In Major Blow To Fans". Cord Busters. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Discussion topic:Changes to the Sky TV guide – July 2021". Sky Community. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  11. ^ "23 June 2022 - Channel Changes and closures on Freeview on 29th & 30th June". Freeview. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  12. ^ Bassam, Tom (21 July 2022). "Viaplay acquires Premier Sports in UK£30m deal to expand UK offering". SportsPro. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Viaplay buys Premier Sports, hires DAZN's Edward Breeze". Broadband TV News. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  14. ^ Newsdesk1, RXTV (18 October 2022). "Premier Sports becomes Viaplay Sports on 1st November > RXTV info". RXTV info. Retrieved 23 January 2024.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Goren, Or (19 January 2024). "Viaplay Xtra Is Shutting Down: Free Sports Era Ends". Cord Busters. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  16. ^ "FreeSports Football". Twitter. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  17. ^ a b "FreeSports Football". Twitter. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  18. ^ "FreeSports launches Football National League Highlights". Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  19. ^ "MLS reveals largest ever lineup international media deals 2020 season". MLS. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Freesports takes live Serie A and Eredivisie". a516digital. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  21. ^ "Football – FreeSports". FreeSports. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  22. ^ "FreeSports picks up Coupe de France rights". SportBusiness Media. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  23. ^ "FIFA U20 World Cup". FreeSports. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  24. ^ "Football – FreeSports". FreeSports. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  25. ^ "Football – FreeSports". FreeSports. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  26. ^ "J1 League". FreeSports. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  27. ^ SOTB (27 May 2020). "FreeSports confirms live Polish & Portugese [sic] football coverage". Sport On The Box. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Indian Super League – FreeSports". FreeSports. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Brazil Serie A – FreeSports". FreeSports. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Football – FreeSports". FreeSports. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  31. ^ "How to watch AFC Women's Asian Cup". Live Soccer TV. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  32. ^ "European MiniFootball Season 2022". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  33. ^ "FreeSports Ice Hockey". Twitter. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  34. ^ "FreeSports Ice Hockey". Twitter. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  35. ^ "ELITE LEAGUE TO BE TELEVISED ON FREESPORTS | Elite Ice Hockey League – Pointstreak Sites". eliteleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup opener to be shown on free-to-air TV in UK". Autosport.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  37. ^ "5 Star Wrestling :: 5 STAR WRESTLING LIVE ON FREESPORTS: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW". 5starwrestling.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  38. ^ "Mlw Secures Tv Deal In Uk & Irleland". PWInsider.com. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  39. ^ "IMPACT Wrestling Partners With Premier Sports". Impact Wrestling. 2 October 2020.
  40. ^ "NCL secures live TV deal with FreeSports". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  41. ^ "Every game for only £9.99 per month! |". www.premiersports.com. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  42. ^ "Cricket on FreeSports". FreeSports. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  43. ^ "BT Sport customers get access to Copa Libertadores final | News | Sportcal". www.sportcal.com. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  44. ^ "Copa Libertadores final gets FreeSports free-to-air UK screening". www.sportspromedia.com. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  45. ^ "TV Channels Listings - BBC SPORT". soccersat.com. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  46. ^ "Cage Warriors hits free-to-air UK TV with FreeSports partnership". Cage Warriors. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  47. ^ "BBL games to be shown on FreeSports channel available in 18 million homes – BBL – British Basketball League". BBL – British Basketball League. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.

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