SKY exclusive deal for F1 live races from 2019 UK

[boyracer94]

And I thought the fans wanted it be become more accessible. It seems FOM don't care of course...

[hemichromis]

Looks like no one talked to Channel 4 about this!

"we've only just picked up the news"
Stephen Lyle

http://en.f1i.com/news/48378-channel-4- ... -deal.html

[RicerDude]

I'm not sure whether this is still the case but you can get Sky Sports F1 free with the HD pack which makes it totally worth it. I've been watching Sky since 2012 and apart from that complete t****r 'Crofty' their coverage is top notch. Infact I far preferred it to the BBC coverage of late.

[nevill3]

New customers can no longer get it with the HD pack, new subscribers have to pay for the sport pack with Sky. If anybody who has F1 because they had the HD pack originally they would lose their "free" F1 channel if they ever change their package (unless they were adding sport package).

A colleague at work added multiroom or movies to his account and lost F1........not a happy customer

[Unc1eM0nty]

F1 is going to die along with its aging fan base, I grew up watching motor racing - sadly the kids of today wont

Its so ironic that a sport that prides itself on technology it just so backwards when it comes to promoting itself with no online content whatsoever.

[Shakeman]

F1 is going to die along with its aging fan base, I grew up watching motor racing - sadly the kids of today wont

Its so ironic that a sport that prides itself on technology it just so backwards when it comes to promoting itself with no online content whatsoever.

The short term financial model of Subscription TV deals will kill viewer numbers and the knock on of killing advertising revenue to teams. The next generation of fans and young drivers inspired to follow F1 or become a driver will come from a commensurately smaller pool.

I love no sport enough to line the pocket of Murdoch so my interest in F1 will be constrained to free to air radio. If last week's BBC broadcast is anything to go by it will be a short lived interest because the commentary was awful.

The sport is on its last legs and the prognosis is not good. Maybe F1 dying and a new Formula taking its place would be a good thing. I'd like to see some of those future F1 concept cars racing sooner rather than later.

[Just_a_fan]

I've enjoyed some of the coverage of WEC. They are pretty impressive machines and the racing is often good too. I quite enjoy MotoGP/Superbikes etc. too but I've never followed it consistently like I have F1 for nearly 30 years. Touring cars can be fun too, and rallying is also interesting although coverage is sparse.

There are other options out there.

[bill shoe]

http://www.autosport.com/premium/featur ... s-audience

Autosport Article: "F1's pay TV drive can only shrink its audience"

Location of Article: Behind Autosport's pay-wall.

=D> =D> =D>

[Cold Fussion]

I've enjoyed some of the coverage of WEC. They are pretty impressive machines and the racing is often good too. I quite enjoy MotoGP/Superbikes etc. too but I've never followed it consistently like I have F1 for nearly 30 years. Touring cars can be fun too, and rallying is also interesting although coverage is sparse.

There are other options out there.

WEC is fun to watch but the production quality isn't really on a par with Formula 1 IMO. WEC are in this weird middle ground where they have a pretty limited online platform while also having pretty limited TV coverage so the viewing experience is not overly fantastic. WEC should really double down on the online platform and follow in the footsteps of Motogp, WRC and the American sports leagues.

[jknights]

Shame on F1 management. This is pure greed.
They should operate a dual feed in all countries system whereby Sky and another free to air TV company have full rights.
It should not be put in one pot for a long period.
Crazy, greedy capitalism.

[jknights]

F1 is going to die along with its aging fan base, I grew up watching motor racing - sadly the kids of today wont

Its so ironic that a sport that prides itself on technology it just so backwards when it comes to promoting itself with no online content whatsoever.

The short term financial model of Subscription TV deals will kill viewer numbers and the knock on of killing advertising revenue to teams. The next generation of fans and young drivers inspired to follow F1 or become a driver will come from a commensurately smaller pool.

I love no sport enough to line the pocket of Murdoch so my interest in F1 will be constrained to free to air radio. If last week's BBC broadcast is anything to go by it will be a short lived interest because the commentary was awful.

The sport is on its last legs and the prognosis is not good. Maybe F1 dying and a new Formula taking its place would be a good thing. I'd like to see some of those future F1 concept cars racing sooner rather than later.

So agree.
Greed is a one eyed monster. Bernie and his henchmen will cause the death of F1.

[i70q7m7ghw]

There's no way I'm paying for a SKY TV & Sports subscription just to watch F1, so that rules me out.

I'll try to enjoy what's left of the free to air coverage and probably just follow the sport through the news from that point on.

This also makes interesting reading:-
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/chann ... es-684706/

SKY has a tiny viewership in comparison to free to air. Bernie thinks everyone will watch it on SKY because of "the system they've got"... I don't believe it for a second.

If I'm not watching the race live, I'll find a better way than SKY's catchup service to watch it recorded.

[hemichromis]

I just watched the race on Channel 4 live.

It was so well produced, adverts were never intrusive and the whole team did a great job.
Far more interesting than the Sky team.

IMO on Channel 4's first live race they came close to the quality of BBC after many years of experience.

Why couldn't Bernie have waited!

[hemichromis]

Channel 4 Bahrain GP 2.3m Viewers average.

Sky Sports F1 Abu dhabi 2015 399,000 viewers.

[nevill3]

Fewer and fewer people are watching F1 live, the figures below speak for themselves with Sky coverage appallingly low, averaging less then half a million viewers!!

Sky Sports F1’s coverage, also airing from 15:00 to 18:30, averaged 546k (3.9%), peaking with 966k (7.3%) at 16:05.

Numbers stayed relatively stable throughout the Grand Prix on Channel 4, hovering constantly around the three million mark before rising in the last few laps. Last year, BBC’s live coverage averaged 3.83m (26.0%) over a shorter 185-minute slot, peaking with 5.31m

Source...
http://f1broadcasting.co/tag/ratings/

When it goes behind the paywall I expect the figures to drop even more for the live broadcast. I will probably give up watching it live myself and watch it online later for free, trying to avoid the news of who won if at all possible, which it will be because F1 is no longer a newsworthy feature like it used to be.