Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
richard_leeds wrote:ps Ringo - You don't pay for it so that's why you can't watch it. Simples! However, when something you do subscribe to decides to drop 50% of its coverage, then I will have sympathy for you, even if it is not reciprocated.
I would pay for BBC coverage of the races. I'd even pay for the Red Button coverage if they would let me. But they don't, they refuse to make money that people will pay them so I will continue to torrent races that I want to see. Simple as that. Media companies are extremely customer hostile and I will continue to be hostile to them. If they'd take my money, I'd give it to them. If they won't take my money I'll torrent it.
There may be legal reasons why the Beeb won't sell you its coverage. The Beeb is quite restrained in some aspects of what it can do. This may be one of those things. Something to do with competition law etc. I think.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
There may be legal reasons why the Beeb won't sell you its coverage. The Beeb is quite restrained in some aspects of what it can do. This may be one of those things. Something to do with competition law etc. I think.
The legal reasons are very simple. The Beeb is funded by the TV license fee so that it can broadcast things that it feels will be beneficial to the country whether or not lots of people watch them, and whether or not lots of people agree with the points of view expressed. As soon as they start selling programs to people they're chasing ratings and their mandate, along with their objectivity goes out the window.
Diesel wrote:I wouldn't want to be a BBCF1 team member at Silverstone, by then fans may have missed quite a few races live...
I still can't get my head around the whole highlights thing. The currently put the full race on iPlayer, why can't they just do this next year?
Because they don't have the rights to do so. That belongs to Sky. I'd have thought that pretty obvious- the BBC can't currently even let you watch the iPlayer in foreign countries; whatg makes you think that they can skirt a multi-million licencing agreement?
Diesel wrote:I wouldn't want to be a BBCF1 team member at Silverstone, by then fans may have missed quite a few races live...
I still can't get my head around the whole highlights thing. The currently put the full race on iPlayer, why can't they just do this next year?
Because they don't have the rights to do so. That belongs to Sky. I'd have thought that pretty obvious- the BBC can't currently even let you watch the iPlayer in foreign countries; whatg makes you think that they can skirt a multi-million licencing agreement?
AFAIK the agreement won't let them broadcast the races live, it says nothing about not being able to broadcast full race re-runs. Do you have a source that says otherwise?
My understanding is it's the BBC's decision to run a highlights show to reduce the impact on their 'prime time' tv schedule. That I can accept, but that doesn't stop them putting the full re-run on iPlayer.
It just means I'll watch a recording of the Sky coverage instead
For me this also means the end of BBC watching for half of the races at least. I will have to switch back to RTBF (Walloon channel) in French (quite good actually), or otherwise VT4 in Dutch, but there are no features, commentary sucks and they delay some races because cycling is more important .
Can you guys from the UK not catch any Dutch / Belgian / French broadcast?
In all honesty, this will be the last time I watch Forumula One, and I expect to be reading about how the viewing figures have plummeted since Sky got brought in on the deal in a couple of months time.
As some of you guys may have noticed, I have been absent from this site for some time. Still coming to terms with the loss of a very dear friend (Formula 1 from 2012 onwards).
As far as I understand it, it is possible to get an RTL satellite signal here in the UK which can be viewed without a subscription, and as Radio 5 Live will still be offering live audio coverage, you could have english commentary too (albeit perhaps with a slight time lag, but a decent PVR could sort that out with a bit of time shifting (probably on the Audio, but it depends I guess).
Trouble is, I recently forked out for a Freeview HD PVR in order to be able to enjoy F1 in High Definition on the BBC until the end of the BBC's contract, and frankly I am buggered if I am going to fork out for a dish and decoder only for that to go off the air in a few months. Bernie has already made some noises about pulling R5L from doing live coverage.
It's goodbye to F1 for me. I shall miss the sport and all you guys enormously, but half a season is as useful to me as a nut without a bolt.
Cheers
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The answer to the ultimate question, of life, the Universe and ... Everything?
Its also my last F1 race.
I have to watch the F1 live, with the live timing. As a poor student, I can't afford a sky subscription. As well as that, I don't wish to give Ecclestone and Murdock more money, Ecclestone already gets enough from each track and each TV company in all the countries F1 visits for the F1 to be free-to-air.
I'd rather quit F1 and take a stand than keeping quiet and paying up.
Since my daughter was born I tend to only see 50% of the races live, so it'll not be too different for me.
I'm curious about those saying "all or nothing". If F1 was not previously on TV and they announced 50% would be on TV next year, you'd be delighted. Or are you saying that you only follow a sport because it is on TV?
Surely the dominant factor in being a fan of any sport is an interest in the sport and any TV coverage is a bonus?
Perhaps I didn't explain myself properly. Let's take the example of public libraries (which have for a very long time in this country been free at the point of delivery) suddenly deciding that they will still keep the books and you may borrow them for free, but they're going to remove every second page, especially where those pages have the interesting stuff and plot twists etc. If you want to read the remainder, you'll have to go to the pay-per-loan library.
I guess it's somewhat akin to my wife deciding after years of marriage that she wants to spend Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights with her lover, unless of course I decide to buy her a peice of jewelery every month and keep doing so. I wouldn't really be interested in a relationship like that, as for me it has to be all or nothing.
I'm dramatising here of course, but I hope I have explained my thoughts a little better.
The answer to the ultimate question, of life, the Universe and ... Everything?
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