Jump to content

Formula One goes to Sky Sports from 2012


Andy_Bangle
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 187
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Don't just get mad. Take action. Take five minutes to complain to the BBC here -

BBC Complaints - Hompage

They're supposed to have a five year contract. Ask them why they're going back on it, when BBC F1 coverage is currently the best in the world. Ask them why the UK, which has more F1 teams, suppliers and designers than any all the other countries put together, and has a big following here, stands to have the worst, most fragmented coverage as a result of this decision.

Then take five minutes to contact FOTA.

Contacts | Formula One Teams Association

They've said it's crucial that F1 coverage remains free-to-air - http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/06/20/whitmarsh-crucial-f1-coverage-remains-freetoair/. Tell them they're right, and that it's time for them to take action on behalf of everybody involved or interested in F1 in the UK. Tell them that even though you're a lifelong fan you'll walk away if it goes to Sky next year.

Tell them now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Already done it.

I've posted a couple of comments on Facebook. Someone in my network has posted this on my wall:

this is actually the right thing to do.

-£60million a year of license-fee payers money

-£3million per race

-£1 per hour viewer compared to an average of £0.07 per hour for all other programming

-The same cost as the entire yearly budget for BBC4

It is a terrible misuse of license-fee payers money anyway. The BBC are doing the right thing. You can blame Murdoch if you like, but for the prices being charged, its actually the right thing to do to make it a premium product in this way and make (the few) people who watch it pay more (than the many who dont), and for that reason there is only one person to blame.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you Bernie Ecclestone. . .

This all comes down to the money-grabbing twunt that is Ecclestone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've posted a couple of comments on Facebook. Someone in my network has posted this on my wall:

F1 gets over 6 million UK viewers, but is resold to around 50 million worldwide. It's met or exceeded all its targets for viewer numbers and reach, see p35 of the BBC Trust report here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/review_report_research/vfm/sports_rights.pdf - which no other sport did.

6 million viewers seems pretty good for a Sunday lunchtime. I don't have all the figures to crunch, but if you factor in the transmission hours on Saturday (and potentially the forum too) the cost per viewer hour is much lower than £1 - one quick run through gave me 8p. I suspect it's nearer to 12p on UK only, but even so that seems pretty good value for flagship programming, and that's before they resell it to all the other markets they cover.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well as a Sky Sports and HD subscriber I'm looking forward to seeing this.

Sky do a fantastic job on the football side of things and I'd expect them to do the same on F1.

As for the BBC losing it, well it's a shame but if they're not going to put the money forward then it's only to be expecting that Bernie will do what he usually does and run after the money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this is actually the right thing to do.

-£60million a year of license-fee payers money

-£3million per race

-£1 per hour viewer compared to an average of £0.07 per hour for all other programming

-The same cost as the entire yearly budget for BBC4

Those figures are from a Sunday Times article on the 19th June which, according to BBC F1 staff, contains a number of inaccuracies:

Lee McKenzie said via Twitter: “Sunday Times claims BBC is to axe F1. The inaccuracies in the article hint that the journalist knows as much as the rest of us! Not much!” And the @5LiveF1 account dismissal the story: “Morning all! Loads of tweets about the Sunday Times article on BBC Axing F1, finding it hard to believe as it is filled with inaccurate info”.

The article claimed that ‘apart from the British Grand Prix, most races attract only between 2m and 4m viewers’ – a bit harsh considering the Canadian Grand Prix drew in eight million and for the Monaco Grand Prix viewing figures were at a ten year high. It went to say that F1 costs the BBC ‘£1 a head for every viewer, compared with the average 7p-an-hour broadcast cost for BBC1 and BBC2′. Whilst BBC staff complain of the inaccuracies in this particular article, and BBC bosses will no doubt disagree with the £3m-a-race figure, there is no denying after this mornings news the article wasn't to far from the truth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How long will that last?

Edit: I predict over the course of the contract the BBC's share of the race's will drop and the pre/post highlight programmes will move out of primetime.

I don't see why you'd say that. Sky don't put adverts in football matches except at half time. They're not stupid.

Even in boxing they only show 20 second adverts between rounds and they alternate so you don't see an advert every round.

I think it's grossly unfair to put Sky down on things like this when there is nothing whatsoever to suggest they've done anything but good for sports they've put on their channels in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm only speaking as I find. Sky do a fantastic job on Premier League football and Champions League and I see no reason why they wouldn't do the same on F1.

It's not their fault the BBC didn't bid enough.

ITV threw adverts into F1, didn't they? I don't think Sky will.

The reality is that if you want premier sports, you pay for it nowadays. That's how it has been for some time. It happened to Cricket and Boxing and it was always going to happen to other sports. If you want to watch F1, you have to pay for it now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's right to suggest that F1 might have adverts in it. Did you watch ITV's coverage? But if they say they won't then fairy nuff.

Boxing and cricket, Premier sports?

What you mean is, the more money Sky can generate from a sport, the more chance they will move to Sky +++

Edited by m4ttm4son
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sky have said they will NOT put adverts in during the race but no decision has been made about practice or Qualifying yet. +++

I'm still not going to pay for Sky though especially as a Virgin customer they change a fortune and then want extra for HD, so I'm out. I will watch what is shown on the BBC only and watch the highlights for other races or look to get the program in other places.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I don't doubt the coverage on Sky will be excellent, and if was already a sports subscriber I wouldn't really be bothered, however, I subscribe to the full sky package, except sports, and I won't be upgrading my subscription for F1.

It's too much of a poor spectacle to be honest, I enjoy a good race don't get me wrong, and although they are getting more interesting, I won't pay to watch them when most of the races I watch on fast forward, or fall asleep during the bulk of the laps.

Not to mention we already know who's won.

I suspect a lot of people are like me, I enjoy F1, but not enough to pay for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can someone change MrMe's title to "Sponsored by Sky & BMW" :grin:

Excellent suggestion.

As for them doing an excellent job on Premier Football - I guess this is open to debate. In general, Sky have dumbed down television on all their channels and their coverage of Premier football is in the same vein. Clearly it works due to their monopoly - most Sky subscribers I know complain about poor commentary, incessant adverts and ever increasing subscriber fees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I'm another here that will be free for an extra few games of Golf with the reduced number of races to watch. - I wont be paying sky any extra so I guess for 50% of the races there will be plenty like me and viewing figures will reduce.

I must say I stopped subscribing to Sky Sports a few years back because I thought the quality of their product was deteriorating and no longer felt it was worth paying extra for, but thats all imo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The more I think about this the worse I feel about this.

I've been watching F1 for over 25 years ish, and I'm not that old, so a pretty darn long time. Yes the coverage over that time has ebbed and flowed the ITV days being a low point and yes I know in times gone by we would only really get a highlights show but that really was in the early days.

I know football, cricket and rugby to name a few have all gone through this but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. I'm not sports mad, only F1 really and touring cars from time to time and the chances of me paying for Sky is nil, its not going to happen.

So I'm left with the decision just to watch the sport when its on BBC and pick up the highlights or just forget it altogether. Maybe we all need to boycott it for a weekend to make our viewing figures heard, maybe F1 doesn't care if me or many of the others in this thread are supporting them or not, its all about the money after all and when it comes down to it its the new markets that they are interesting in penetrating not that people in the UK can watch it or not.

A shocking turn of events that makes me want it to be on Five and have adverts, yes its that bad!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...