Digital TV Coverage Scraped (all merged)

[Super Tourer]

Story from:

www.autosport.com

Fresh blow to F1 TV coverage

Staff pay price as Bernie fails to secure hosting rights

The promise of dramatically improved terrestrial TV coverage of Formula 1 next season has suffered a setback after Bernie Ecclestone failed in his bid to secure the host broadcasting rights for next year's races.

After the collapse of his digital TV project, Ecclestone turned his attention to improving the quality of the 'free-to-air' transmissions. A key element in this was taking control away from local television directors, who have been criticised in the past for concentrating too much on local drivers.

Ecclestone's failure to secure the rights has had the knock-on effect of mass redundancies at his Formula One Management operation, which is based at Biggin Hill. More than 300 staff have been put on paid leave, and it is thought that around 70 percent of these will be made redundant.

It remains to be seen what impact the redundancies will have on plans to introduce features from the digital 'supersignal' such as on-board cameras and greater angles into the terrestrial feed stations such as ITV receive

[woodbine]

This will really help the ratings to pick up won't it. After all no one wants to see all dicing for position down the field. Just show us lots of shots of Ferraris going round and round.

[Adam43]

It gets worse...

[Sato san]

i just cant believe that weve gone from the best coverage weve ever witniessed back to the worse coverage in less than 5 months !

[LucaBadoer]

****

[Total-F1]

Bernie will have everything in control - he's probably just trying to lower the value of it so he can get it cheaper.

[dragon x]

Formula 1 RIP 1950-2003

[Sodemo]

I don't understand why this is "worse" for the coverage at all!!

After all, up until 1997 we had lots of on-board footage as Bernie wasn't holding it to ransom on his pay-per-view service, now his service is dead he can no longer prevent the terrestrial feed from having them?!

On my recording of the Japanese GP of 1996 they had about 7 on board cameras all on the terrestrial feed.

Surely the 2003 coverage will just be the same as the coverage we had up until the digital service arrived?

[Adam43]

The cameras on the cars where all part of the digital operation.

And, overall the host broadcasters don't do as good a job as digital did! Even just for the main feed. Less cameras. No idea what F1 is about, etc...

At least the host broadcaster will know who to follow during qualifying! (hopefully!) Rather than just pick up everyone on their warm up lap or slowing down lap.

I think the main advantage is the dedicated team producing the pictures at each GP.

You are probably right the coverage will be like pre-digital. But, like all things, the state of the art coverage has moved on (a lot) since then. And frankly the efforts I saw last year were just not up to scratch from some of the races (even the picture quality was poor!).

On a sort of unrelated point: Wouldn't it be nice to have a nice 16:9 feed?

[Snapper Baz]

70% of the F1 staff (I presume F1 Digital/broadcasting)were "given their cards" earlier this week at Biggin Hill Airport where all F1 (digital) tv was broadcast/mixed from...perhaps if enthusiasts were asked to pay a reasonable amount they might still have jobs!

[GXH]

We should all no by now that if Bernie cant have what he wants nobody will, so im afraid were going 2 be stuck with ITV joke of a service

[Damon]

Welcome GXH, with views like that you'll get on just fine here! I hate James Allen too.

[GXH]

Thanks Damon i no the feeling, its good 2 be here

[alchemy]

I think it was reasonable - very reasonable in fact! It’s just everyone wants something for next to nothing…..

6 quid for all that Sky F1 digital gave is a great deal. Call yourselves enthusiasts... Phaa!!!!

[Adam43]

Welcome to 10-10ths and enjoy!

[GXH]

you's are all 2 kind cheers

[GXH]

6 quid is nothing 4 the service we were spoiled with, u would spend more on 2 drinks in a bar. The sad part is that we now no what we will be missing and can we go back to normal service

[ASCII Man]

I don't think anyone has ever answered my question before in similar threads about that digital service being halted.

But here it goes (again).

Does this only affect Great-Brittain or will the digital service being ended also affect me here in Belgium?

[GXH]

if it was run by the gangster bernies company then yes (his was the interactive version )

[Damon]

I'm also guessing that the cicuit feeds will also now be handed back to local broadcasters?

[Sodemo]

What I can't believe is that Bernie will just "sell off" all the equipment he used to broadcast the digital service, it makes more sense to do what he originally planned, by giving the main feed to the terrestrial peeps, all this is coming at the wrong time for F1, we need better coverage not worse coverage.

[Sodemo]

Im sorry but I totally disagree with the above poster(s) views that enthusiasts should be "compelled" to pay for decent F1 coverage. I am totally against pay per view programs - films, boxing, F1, I just wont pay because I think you should be given decent coverage free.

Although we have sky I was totally against paying for the F1 digital service. I KNOW it offered a lot more than the standard feed, and that the variety of camera angles were mindblowing, but all I want is a decent directors feed with on-board cameras like we had pre-98. The fact that Bernie held the on-board cameras to ransom on his service is distastful, Bernie I laugh at your predicament.

[Sato san]

Originally posted by ®îjñtjûh

Does this only affect Great-Brittain or will the digital service being ended also affect me here in Belgium?

yes.it will affecteveryone all over the world !.....there will be no more digital service for anyone in any country .

[Snapper Baz]

The Monster...I agree with everything you say! I bought my Sky stuff weeks after it was 1st announced many, many years ago just so I could watch my motorsport. The Sky subscription cost is stupid anyway-to have to shell out for another service (however good or bad it is)is taking the ****! With the money Bernie makes you'd think to get more people interested he'd give something back to the sport instead of just take, take, take!!

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Snapper Baz
The Sky subscription cost is stupid anyway-to have to shell out for another service (however good or bad it is)is taking the ****!

If Sky were going to buy the rights to F1 and show it as part of the "package" they would have to charge every customer (who has Sky sports at least) extra subscription, pick a sport that you don't like, any sport and ask yourself, would you want to pay more money in your subscriptions because that sport was being televised on Sky? Proberbly not.

You only get what you pay for in this world, thats why ITV show cr@p coverage, because it's free, Sky showed better coverage and it was well worth the money.

Originally posted by Snapper Baz
With the money Bernie makes you'd think to get more people interested he'd give something back to the sport instead of just take, take, take!!

Thats why he's a buisnessman and worth a lot of money, and thats why we're not worth alot of money and only talk about it!