F1 goes to Sky sports

[Graz]

This is my first post in quite a while and given the issue at hand, I felt I had to.

Obviously this is terrible news. I also don't think it'll be successful. It's not like football where it has such a mass appeal with fanatical fans who will pay to watch their team and any team to get their football fix. Football is the biggest sport on the planet by far and the model to charging to watch it works - the market is there. The market isn't there for F1 given I'm sure Bernie has charged his usual obscene fee. Sky could find themselves losing a lot of money on this and quite frankly I hope they do.

I echo other posters who say this is a final nail in the coffin for me. I used to be fanatical but the way F1 has gone over the years, the appeal has diminished. I certainly won't be subscribing to Sky. I hope we get to see the audience figures. Without a doubt, these are going to drop - significantly.

As always, it's the fans who lose out. Like anything, without the fans F1 would not be where it is now (and Bernie and the drivers wouldn't be multi gazzilionaires). So now they want the fans to shell out yet more money to them? Enough is enough. Once 2012 happens, I will follow F1 even less and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. I'll check the result later on Sunday, that's about it. F1 has further alienated me today and soon I won't be in touch with it at all. It was a great journey while it lasted the last 30 odd years.

Greedy feckers.

[Knowlesy]

Can't even get rid of the dreaded casual fans due to it still being on BBC in various forms.

[ascarracinguk]

sign here also http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23poweroff1fans

[safc_fan89]

Originally Posted by jab

It was F1 or BBC4 for the chop

Which gets the greater audiences?

Adam Parr compares this to the English Premier League, but with that, you know that if you want to watch a game, you go to the local pub. Are local pubs really going to show qualifying and races live on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, when they are up against other football matches? I suspect not, which means his quote about Bernie having done this to broaden the audience is total nonsense.

Regarding audience figures, I'm sure ITV will have scored a much higher audience for the Champions League final than Sky Sports, but that's not what motivates those who make the decisions. The money does.

[Lotusonpole]

Originally Posted by Bodysnatcher

So, if we have a turn about sytem based around the BBC having the British GP, here's how the 2011 season would have worked with Sky.

live exclusive to Sky
Bahrain * (yes I know it was cancelled, but it should have been there)
Malaysia
Turkey
Monaco
Valencia
Germany
Spa
Singapore
Korea
Abu Dhabi.

so what would us Sky averse fans have missed?

Well....Spa for starters.
My, at least, favourite, race of the season.

[ChrisPage]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

I know that "F1" as a sport isn't on the "gold list" or whatever its called (the sporting events that are protected), however I was under the impression that the "British GP" as a one-off event was. I believe though, that assumption by myself is wrong. There is no protected status of F1 on British free-to-air TV.

Anyway, I hope its a terrible failure and everyone involved loses a shed load of money.

The list of sports on the list is quite small - e.g. Worl Cup Final, FA Cup Final. No motorsport event gets a look in. http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/080420...ee-air-tv.html

One day the UK government will wake up and see the importance of motorsport in the UK economy - its one of the few areas where we clearly lead the world in high-tencnology innovation and manufacturing. It should be used by the government as a clear advertisement of British tecnological innovative capacity in a wiode range of sectors. I'm not calling for subsidies - just recognition of the true value of motorsport to the UK.

[skells22]

I have a question, if we have a Canada/Korea heavy rain delay and it is on Sky want will Sky do?

[mattt]

The BBC article said that Monaco and Silverstone would both be on BBC.

I would hope the likes of Austrailia, Monaco, Silverstone, Spa, Canada, Monza, Brazil, Japan and the last race if not one of the prior mentioned ones would be on BBC

[flipper]

Reading Adam Parr's comment on autosport.com :

"In principle I have no issue with optimising the balance between the revenues that we need, and getting a good reach in the audience,"

the teams are forgetting that F1 is competed in by them but watched and thus, indirectly, paid for by spectators.
I would really like to hear what Vodaphone et al are going to think when the viewing numbers slump but perhaps they also can be replaced by "enhanced revenues from Sky" ?

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by jab

And Davyboy, the BBC can't afford it. They've dropped it here - they had an exclusive deal for another year. It was F1 or BBC4 for the chop

Oh my God they can ! They're one of the best funded media organizations in the world. It's how they chose to spend their funding, that's the problem with the Beeb.

[Born Racer]

A load of ****. That's as articulate as I can be right now having just read about it.

[Cynic]

Interesting that the teams have been caught on the hop. Could we see Formula Teddy out the Pram make a reappearance?

Also, a question to those who are talking about Beeb effectively broadcasting one half of the season and Sky the other. Is this speculation or fact based? I would expect the Beeb to 'cherry pick' the races dependent on how appealing they'll be, and whether or not they clash with the latset episode of Dancing on Ice or whatever other dross they stick into the schedule.

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by flipper

Reading Adam Parr's comment on autosport.com :

"In principle I have no issue with optimising the balance between the revenues that we need, and getting a good reach in the audience,"

the teams are forgetting that F1 is competed in by them but watched and thus, indirectly, paid for by spectators.
I would really like to hear what Vodaphone et al are going to think when the viewing numbers slump but perhaps they also can be replaced by "enhanced revenues from Sky" ?

Sadly these days Williams has little in the way of commercial, brand sponsorship, effectively funded by the Venezuelan government in return for running Pastor, so of all the main teams, viewing figures are probably less critical to them.

[neiltb]

Loads of other countries have to pay extra for the privilege, me in Canada for instance. Bernie doesn't grumble about the viewing #'s provided the cheque clears.

Remember the UK only has ~65 - 70 million potential viewers and what % watch F1? How many people are in China and India again? North America has >350 million. As posted elsewhere, Sky would buy exclusive rights to Corrie if it could.

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

Sadly these days Williams has little in the way of commercial, brand sponsorship, effectively funded by the Venezuelan government in return for running Pastor, so of all the main teams, viewing figures are probably less critical to them.

Well they are critical, but the F1 team view is very short term, especially a struggling team like Williams.

If viewing figures drop, then nobody will pay the Ecclestone fee and the teams take a big hit. At this moment in time though, Bernie has just received a huge lump of cash and everybody is happy.

I must say I don't like Adam Parr much. Some of the ****e he has come out with this year... Seems an idiot.

[Bodysnatcher]

Originally Posted by Cynic

Also, a question to those who are talking about Beeb effectively broadcasting one half of the season and Sky the other. Is this speculation or fact based? I would expect the Beeb to 'cherry pick' the races dependent on how appealing they'll be, .

Originally Posted by bbc sport site

Sky Sports will show every race, qualifying session and practice live.

BBC Sport will broadcast half the races live, as well as the qualifying and practice sessions from those races.

Both companies will broadcast in high definition.

Races screened by the BBC will be live on the BBC Sport website for UK users.

The BBC will have highlights on TV, online and mobile for any race it is not showing live, and all races will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 live.

...< snip waffle by spokesperson about being a good deal for fans..>

Races shown live on BBC TV will include the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the Monaco GP and the concluding race of the season.

no mention about how the pie will be divvied up.

I'll be carrying on watching F1, but it looks like I'll only be able to see highlights of the 1/2 not carried live by the BBC, a return to the 80s in a way when I used to just watch the BBC2 highlights programme on a Sunday night, since I was invariably at a racetrack during the day and would not have set the VCR to record as I ran out the door.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by neiltb

Loads of other countries have to pay extra for the privilege, me in Canada for instance. Bernie doesn't grumble about the viewing #'s provided the cheque clears.

Remember the UK only has ~65 - 70 million potential viewers and what % watch F1? How many people are in China and India again? North America has >350 million. As posted elsewhere, Sky would buy exclusive rights to Corrie if it could.

Maybe Bernie won't care, But Sky will. If the numbers don't add up they'll drop F1 like a hot potato.

[neiltb]

you're right, they might. And you're right again, BE probably doesn't care as long as his pile of gold gets bigger.

[ralf fan]

Frankly, **** off Sky.

The BBC coverage is one of the best we've had in a while.

[Knowlesy]

Could I ask you all kindly to vote in this poll in armchair, if you have time?

http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129486

[bjohnsonsmith]

This is the bit that gets me:

'Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told BBC Sport: "It's super for F1. It will mean a lot more coverage for the sport.'

You already get full coverage from the BBC, you can't get any more coverage than that.

[andy666]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

This is the bit that gets me:

'Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told BBC Sport: "It's super for F1. It will mean a lot more coverage for the sport.'

You already get full coverage from the BBC, you can't get any more coverage than that.

Is Bernie a bit thick ?

[Paulaweybridge]

Just received this via e-mail from Autosport:

No adverts during the race !!!

http://email.autosport.com/q/1MP32ZxIS8aAOu/wv

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by davyboy

Oh my God they can ! They're one of the best funded media organizations in the world. It's how they chose to spend their funding, that's the problem with the Beeb.

Hmm. They may be one of the best funded, but they still have a limited amount of cash, and they are under orders to make the best use of it. F1 is very expensive and we can blame BE for that - he puts the price up so high even the BBC balks at the cost. The BBC have chosen to spend the money elsewhere, and that elsewhere probably serves more people over a year than F1.

Once again, don't blame the BBC for BE overpricing F1 so that only Sky can afford it.

I personally think that this will result in a rapid reduction in viewing figures, and the sponsers are not going to be happy. But we shall see.

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by Paulaweybridge

Just received this e-mail from Autosport:

No adverts during the race !!!

http://email.autosport.com/q/1MP32ZxIS8aAOu/wv

SUDDENLY IT IS WORTH IT!!!