Woerts defends Talpa response after Ajax stream failure

Sports marketer Chris Woerts has publicly addressed the technical failure that disrupted the paid stream of Ajax’s Conference League match away to FC Sion. KIJK.nl had acquired the broadcast rights and charged supporters €4.99 for access, but many viewers were unable to follow the game properly.

Ajax won the match 4-2, although the malfunctioning stream overshadowed the broadcast for customers. Talpa subsequently decided to compensate affected viewers by refunding their payments after acknowledging that the problem was internal and technical.

Speaking on Vandaag Inside, Woerts played down the possibility of avoiding all such failures, saying, “It can happen,” as reported by FCUpdate. He nevertheless described the episode as a drama and praised Talpa for accepting responsibility and returning customers’ money. Woerts contrasted that response with previous technical problems experienced by other streaming and television providers, which he said had not led to refunds.

Johan Derksen was less forgiving about the scale of the error, arguing that repayment was the only realistic option after a widely discussed blunder. Woerts also said he had received mocking messages from other media companies following the incident, including an email from former Ziggo director Will Moerer. He responded by pointing to earlier occasions when Formula One coverage had also gone offline during Moerer’s time with the broadcaster.