Race Start Times in Europe to change.

[Phil]

IMO they should really start to worry about how people will watch the races live when there are less and less broadcasters outthere willing to secure those rights. From 2019 on, it looks like pretty much everything will be behind a paywall. Maybe that is the future, but if that happens, well, I guess no more live races for me either... (I love F1 a lot, but not to the point I'd pay more than what I am already paying to get the basic 'free' TV coverage).

[adrianjordan]

As Phil says, putting F1 behind a pay wall means I won't be watching live any more.

I might be willing to pay for an online subscription that allows me to watch via the official site or something like that, but I have no interest in any of the other sports on Sky so won't be subscribing to them.

[1158]

First this article says it COULD happen, it's not etched in stone and they are waiting for feedback from the teams and broadcast partners. At least they are getting feedback instead of just ramming a stupid qualifying format down their throats, thank you very much Bernie. This Chicken Little sh!t is getting old. Liberty is not going to screw with the core of F1. Let's say their evil plan is to make F1 an open wheel version of NASCAR, what would that get them? Maybe another couple hundred thousand viewers in the States, but at what cost? Millions upon millions of viewers and add revenue worldwide. Liberty is not going to drive their investment into the ground. At NASCAR's height of popularity it was still just a flyspeck compared to the stick and ball sports in the States. Auto racing has never really taken off here and I have a hard time believing it ever will (maybe because it requires more than a 10 second attention span).

This idea that Liberty Media is going to alienate the rest of the F1 viewing world in an attempt to attract a relatively small amount of Americans is hogwash. Not only would they lose the bulk of their viewers around the world, but the people in the states that do watch F1 would also stop watching. We don't want it to turn into NASCAR anymore than you do. I've endured getting up to watch races at 0200, 0300, 0400 local time for a long time, 70 minutes isn't going to make a difference to me one way or the other. Just get me the streaming broadcast so I don't have to deal with a commercial every 3 minutes.

Finally do you guys really think Ross Brawn would sign his name to the destruction of F1? He'd walk right now if he thought Liberty was going to ruin F1. Lord knows he doesn't need the money and all it would do is ruin his reputation. If Brawn leaves Liberty then I'll start to worry about the future of F1.

I hope my post doesn't come across condescending, I don't mean it to be. I understand the "Americans, oh no!" feeling (I feel that way myself sometimes) but there is a solid core of American F1 fans that don't want F1 to undergo a fundamental change and from where I am right now, I don't think this is something fans around the world need to worry about. The numbers simply don't make sense.

[Just_a_fan]

As Phil says, putting F1 behind a pay wall means I won't be watching live any more.

I might be willing to pay for an online subscription that allows me to watch via the official site or something like that, but I have no interest in any of the other sports on Sky so won't be subscribing to them.

Same here. I'd like to see some cricket too but I can't justify spending £40-50 / month to watch one or two races and the odd day of cricket. I can afford it, I just can't justify it to myself. So this year will be my last season watching F1 after more than 30 years of watching it.

Like you, I'd be prepared to pay a few quid to watch F1 streamed by the FIA/FOM/Liberty but that can't happen in the UK until about 2024 because of Sky's contract. By 2024, unless I've done something naughty such as VPNing a stream from elsewhere in the world, I won't care about F1 enough to pay Liberty anything.

[1158]

Like you, I'd be prepared to pay a few quid to watch F1 streamed by the FIA/FOM/Liberty but that can't happen in the UK until about 2024 because of Sky's contract. By 2024, unless I've done something naughty such as VPNing a stream from elsewhere in the world, I won't care about F1 enough to pay Liberty anything.

That really sucks. I'm glad the NBC contract was up this year. I'm so tired of piss poor coverage. I've streamed the sky f1 feed from time to time and it's nite and day.

[NathanOlder]

Sky sports is the best thing to happen to F1 since live races were introduced.
I pay sky £33 a month, and thats for everything other than movies. I see that as massive value, that covers F1, Wsbk, Formula E and WEC. Also adds Premier league football, Cricket, Golf, Darts , Snooker too which i watch when no motor sport is on.

Sky sports F1 have 4 hours live on a friday, 4.5 hours live on a sat and about 4.5 hours live on a Sunday. So about 13 hours live at the track for wach race.

Back to the original topic, i just see it as moving it to help with the small fan base in the US and it must bugger up the show in the east with Japan and Australia ect, places with more relation to F1 than America.

[1158]

I'd love to be able to watch cricket and snooker. When we travel out of the country I try and catch cricket whenever I have the chance. Haven't gotten to watch much of it, but I'm slowly picking it up.

Sorry for the derail.

[Just_a_fan]

Sky sports is the best thing to happen to F1 since live races were introduced.
I pay sky £33 a month, [...]

Sky sports F1 have 4 hours live on a friday, 4.5 hours live on a sat and about 4.5 hours live on a Sunday. So about 13 hours live at the track for wach race.

Being required to pay for something that was free is the best thing to happen? The thing that has driven the TV audience through the floor is the best thing to happen? Erm, ok.

I can't watch practice on a Friday as I have to work. Saturdays are often busy - getting an hour to watch qualifying is a nice break. I don't watch much of the pre-race or the post-race stuff. Too many talking heads filling time and liking their own voices.

I watch qualifying and the race. I might get a few minutes of practice on the odd occasion that the timing works out but mostly it doesn't.

£33/month for 2.5-3 hours of F1 once every two-three weeks doesn't strike me as good value thanks. Oh, and don't forget to add the TV Licence Fee to your £33/month. You're nearer £50/month to watch F1.

[NathanOlder]

Dont forget the tv, the tv cabinet, the sofa, the living room , the electricity, the house. I'm close to 400k now!

I'll say it again, Sky Sports is the best thing to happen to f1 in the uk since the first live race back in 76.

The money sky spend of the features and shows is great. I've had sky in the house since i bought a house. So it hasn't cost me any extra tbh. The crap that was the bbc or ch4 is no where near the sky coverage.

So yes, thank you sky for your (in my opinion) great value coverage.

[strad]

we on the left coast spent years getting up a 4:30 am so you won't get much sympathy here.
.

Just get me the streaming broadcast so I don't have to deal with a commercial every 3 minutes

Boy you will get no argument on that from me.
And don't get me started on the added commercials brought in by this split screen crap that they get away with because it's not in their parlance "a commercial break."

[Phil]

I'll say it again, Sky Sports is the best thing to happen to f1 in the uk since the first live race back in 76.

I love the Sky broadcast. I really do. But IMO it’s not worth the money over what we got from the BBC before it or CH4 now at half the races UNLESS you may be into the football and all other coverage that is included in that price.

I watch football every 2 years on the Euro and World Cup (broadcasted on free tv) and i also watch Tennis (ticked again by free TV) and yes, F1 too - as long as i get to watch it on free TV too. I am not going to pay Sky for the 1.8 races a month. Sorry, i just cant, no matter how good that broadcast is, especially under the premise that it used to be free.

It’s a damn shame. I consider myself to be as hardcore a F1 fan can be, but it really stops there. If there was anability to simply pay for a live stream just F1, i’d probably consider that, but no way will i jutify paying for the entire sports couverage/subscription model if it’s only the F1 i want to watch on it.

Liberty and the rest of the F1 world is in for a rude awakening IMO, especially with the end of Channel4 broadcast and Italy about to give up too. I see a very bleak future coming - and sorry, F1 just doeant have the wide market appeal that football has. It’s motorsport.

[Just_a_fan]

So yes, thank you sky for your (in my opinion) great value coverage.

Sadly they'll be just you and three other people watching it.

[NathanOlder]

How do you know I have a wife and 2 kids ?

Seriously though, the amount you get for £33 a month is great, All the sports channels (over 15), all the discovery and history channels (over 15) are well worth that amount. £1 a day! People spend way more than that on a mobile phone bill. Most people could shop around and save on their energy bills and car insurance to cover sky tv.

[NathanOlder]

Phil!!!!

You're telling me you pay £600 over 4 years, to watch it 1 x Euro, 1 x World cup and 4 x Wimbledon.

Thats a lot of money for so little.

£100 per sporting event.

[Phil]

Is £150 what it costs to watch free TV in the UK per year? In Switzerland it works a little different: Anyone with access to internet or TV has to pay around CHF 450 per household (around £350) to cover the expenses of our national broadcasters. On top of that, you usually have a TV provider you pay which can be around £100. That gives you coverage of around 60-160 channels - basically everything from Germany, Switzerland, most UK channels, some French and Italian channels.

For F1 this gives me access to the Austrian broadcast (ORF), the German ones (RTL) and the Swiss cover it too (SRF), as do the Italians. On top of that, the UK broadcast on CH4 is also available.

CH4 will do until end of 2018 (half races).
RTL has a deal until end of 2020 (all races).
ORF has a deal until end of 2021 (all races).
RAI had a deal till end of 2017.

Considering the only thing I watch on "free TV" is some sport and just about everything is supplied by 'free TV', I am not really keen on paying an additional £33 a month. Luckily, I still have access to ORF to at least 2021 in order to avoid that, so I am not impacted by all of this for another few years. As an F1 fan though, I am quite concerned by the development of RAI giving up its broadcast and the UK heading there by next year too.

The less people have access to F1, the less they'll be interested in it.

BTW: The Sky broadcast is awesome (I don't have it, but I've seen it). So is CH4 and the BBC before it. If you don't think so, you should really force yourself to watch it on either RTL, SRF or ORF (ORF is the best of these 3 IMO).