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Viaplay presenter Amber Brantsen has revealed that Formula 1 commentators Nelson Valkenburg and Melroy Heemskerk received death threats following the broadcaster's takeover of Dutch F1 coverage in 2022. Speaking on Dutch television programme Goedemorgen Nederland, Brantsen confirmed that the backlash against Viaplay's new commentary team crossed into dangerous territory, exposing the darker side of fan resistance to change in a market that had exploded during Max Verstappen's rise to world champion.
Viaplay acquired exclusive Dutch broadcasting rights after the 2021 season, replacing Ziggo Sport and its long-serving commentary duo of Olav Mol and pit reporter Jack Plooij. Valkenburg and Heemskerk took over the microphone, with Chiel van Koldenhoven later added as pit reporter. The changeover triggered immediate hostility from sections of the Dutch F1 audience, many of whom had followed Mol's commentary for decades.
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Brantsen told interviewer Sam Hagens that criticism began before a single broadcast had aired. "People don't like change," she said. "It was very tense, what would the die-hard F1 fans get with Viaplay? So there were quite a few critical reactions." Some of that criticism was directed at her own appointment as presenter, with questions raised about why a woman was fronting the coverage. "What is that girl doing there, and the fact that I'm a woman," Brantsen said. "So before one second of broadcast had been aired, there was already quite a bit of criticism, including towards our commentators."
Threats went beyond acceptable criticism
Brantsen made clear that while she personally did not receive death threats, Valkenburg was subjected to serious intimidation. "To the address of our lead commentator, Nelson Valkenburg, there were actual death threats," she said. "It's just a game, and that went very far." Heemskerk was also targeted, though Brantsen did not specify the nature of threats made against him.
The presenter questioned the mentality behind such extreme reactions. "When people go so far over changing a commentator in our sport, who are these kinds of people? And are they actually waiting for you on the street? I don't know, but how that must have been for him. That was really very intense."
Viaplay's struggle to win over a hostile audience
The hostility reflects the scale of Viaplay's challenge in the Dutch market. Ziggo Sport had covered Formula 1 during the Verstappen boom years, cultivating a massive and loyal audience that associated Mol's voice with the sport itself. Viaplay's decision to bring in a new team, including a female presenter, was met with scepticism rooted partly in nostalgia and partly in resistance to perceived outsiders entering a traditionally male-dominated space.
Brantsen acknowledged the rough start but said the team eventually found its footing. "We have indeed found the flow. It felt a bit like a kind of hazing, because as a team you go through that. But from Zandvoort onwards we were there, and now we're already five years on, which is bizarre." The reference to Zandvoort, the Dutch Grand Prix venue that returned to the calendar in 2021, is significant. That race became a symbolic home event for Viaplay's coverage, a moment when the broadcaster could align itself with the peak of Dutch F1 euphoria.
Wider implications for broadcasters and talent
The death threats against Valkenburg and Heemskerk raise uncomfortable questions about fan behaviour in an era when social media enables direct, often anonymous contact with public figures. Broadcasters stepping into established markets face not only the professional challenge of winning over audiences but also the personal risk that comes with replacing beloved voices. Viaplay's experience in the Netherlands suggests that even in a sport as global as Formula 1, local broadcasting culture can be fiercely territorial.
Brantsen's comments also highlight the specific scrutiny faced by women entering prominent roles in motorsport media. Her gender became a talking point before she had delivered a single line of commentary or presentation, a reminder that the sport's audience, while growing more diverse, still harbours pockets of resistance to change. Viaplay has now been in place for several seasons, and while the initial backlash has subsided, the threats endured by its commentary team remain a troubling episode in the story of F1's commercial expansion
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