Definitely no free-2-air where I am in the Philippines. So I'm used to paying to watch F1. On the other hand we can get StarSports (which covers the races here) in a package for less than 8 UK pounds a month.
Definitely no free-2-air where I am in the Philippines. So I'm used to paying to watch F1. On the other hand we can get StarSports (which covers the races here) in a package for less than 8 UK pounds a month.
I'm with Virgin Media and I do have the full Sky Sports package (luckily! as I watch the cricket and footie), but I still don't think this is a good move. F1 has been on free-to-air tv for decades in this country, and why should fans be suddenly forced to pay subscription for it?
Doesn't make sense.
The future is RED
I watch the races on the BBC iPlayer. Oh well, I'll be done with college/university this upcoming spring, so at least I'll be able to afford cable and watch them on Speed then.
It's not so bad if your a big watcher of TV and are happy to pay out monthly for SKY tv already, but the current financial situation in this country is squeezing people financially and times are tough, and I for one could not justify spending £360 plus a year purely to be able to watch F1 live.
Sky Sports says it won't show adverts during grands prix next year
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93461
Sky Sports has confirmed that it will not run adverts during its broadcast coverage of Formula 1 races next year, and will instead limit them to the pre and post-race show.
The broadcaster announced on Friday morning that it will screen every race, qualifying and practice session of the 2012 F1 season live while BBC Sport will scale-back its coverage to include just half the races.
Adverts became hugely unpopular with UK television audiences when F1 switched from the BBC to ITV in 1997, and a number of key moments during races - including Damon Hill taking the lead of that year's Hungarian Grand Prix in an Arrows - were missed as a result.
A spokesperson for Sky Sports told AUTOSPORT: "We won't have adverts while the races are running. We know they were very unpopular in the past and we don't have to go down that route."
The broadcaster has no plans to introduce a 'pay-per-view' scheme for races, meaning that fans will have to purchase a Sky Sports package and pay for it on a monthly basis.
Sky Sports News, which is available on all Sky packages without the need for a Sky Sports subscription, will feature pre and post-race analysis in addition to that broadcast on Sky Sports.
Everything broadcast on Sky Sports will also be available through its online and via mobile and tablet.
BBC will continue to show highlights of each race it does not broadcast live.
The new agreement BBC / Sky breaks the 'Concorde Agreement', the teams would be free to assemble their own championship without paying the FOM.
Source:
http://twitter.com/#!/joseluisf1
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93455
Formula 1 teams seek clarification on new BBC/Sky television deal
By Jonathan Noble Friday, July 29th 2011, 08:31 GMT
Formula 1 teams are to seek clarification from Bernie Ecclestone on the new BBC/Sky television deal amid concerns about the sport moving away from free-to-air television in 2012.
In a shock announcement on Friday morning, the BBC and Sky announced that they would be sharing coverage of F1 in Britain next year - with Sky showing every race on its subscription channels and the BBC showing only half of them.
That move has led to outrage from fans, who are unhappy that they will not be able to follow every race on free-to-air television.
Team principals have also expressed some surprise at not having every race shown on free-to-air television, but they want more details from Ecclestone to find out what the specifics of the deal are.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said that he would seek more information from Ecclestone, especially because he felt it important F1 was not taken off free-to-air.
"As I understand BBC are covering half the grands prix, and Sky are doing every practice session and everything else. It's interesting," he told AUTOSPORT. "I don't think anyone should be immediately reacting to say this is good, bad, or indifferent.
"What we need to understand is whether the large audience we currently enjoy in Formula 1 will be maintained. I think we also need to understand exactly how this is being done."
Whitmarsh said moves to take F1 off free-to-air could be viewed as a breach of the Concorde Agreement, with him claiming that there were clauses in the deal that ties the teams, Ecclestone and the FIA together that guarantees the sport's broadcast platform.
"We've got a range of safeguards within Concorde, and the right thing to do is to explore how the Formula 1 coverage is going to be dealt with in the future, and take a view from there," he said. "I don't know how many homes in the UK have Sky, but it is a pretty high proportion."
Williams chairman Adam Parr said the key was understanding the finer details of the arrangement - because what teams lose in widespread television viewing figures could be gained in an increased revenue from Sky.
"In principle I have no issue with optimising the balance between the revenues that we need, and getting a good reach in the audience," he told AUTOSPORT. "The devil is in the detail.
"I think it is a balance and, without knowing the details, you cannot comment on whether it is good or bad. What I do know is that Bernie is a very passionate believer in getting the broadest audience possible and I think he has almost certainly done this in order to do that. "
When asked what his message would be to disappointed fans, Parr said: "I am sympathetic to them. I understand it is difficult - but English Premier League fans have had that for a while haven't they?
"The one thing I would say, which I have said before, I know that whether you are coming to a race or are watching the sport at home and have to do that on pay TV which seems expensive, people have to bear in mind what it costs to put on this show. It is part of the character of F1.
"For us to design and build the two cars that we will have on the grid on Sunday here, without putting an engine in them, without putting a driver in them, without accounting for the 70 staff that we bring to each race – without all of that those cars cost £2 million. You multiply that by all the cars on the grid and that is £24 million minimum of the costs just to make the parts. That is part of the show.
"It is not a bloke or two blokes with a tennis racket and a pair of plimsolls with zero cost. It is a very, very expensive sport. The best thing we can do for fans, whether they want to come to the races or want to watch it on TV, is to reduce the cost of the sport without spoiling the show."
Parr also pointed out that the Sky/BBC deal was part of a changing media platform – and he drew comparisons between it and the 'freemium' platform of AUTOSPORT.
"I think that media distribution has changed so much, whether you have gone from paper magazines to a combination of magazine and online," he said. "For example, if you are a lover of AUTOSPORT you have a subscription service there as well as a free-to-air element. The whole media landscape is changing so quickly.
"The argument from AUTOSPORT would be: we cannot do this for free. We can get some revenue from advertising on the website, some from selling magazines, but we have to optimise our income – and if you want the really good quality of the coverage that you love it is not free, we have to pay to get people to the events.
"It is a question of degree and balance but also recognising that the way media is distributed is changing. It may well be that the next time around it is not Sky because Google has won the bid and we are all watching it live on the Internet."
BBC commentator and former F1 driver Martin Brundle said on Twitter that he was "not impressed" with the deal.
"BBC/Sky/F1 2012+. Found out last night, no idea how it will work yet I'm out of contract, will calmly work through options. Not impressed," he wrote.
Maybe there should be a poll to see what people think. I know for one that I won't be paying Sky.
Other teams may be fast, but the poetry, the romance, of F1 Racing belongs to Ferrari
I'm so proud to drive for this team." - Felipe Massa Brazil '08
I've always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there's only a slightest chance - Michael Schumacher
I wonder how this will affect North American coverage on TSN or Speed?
How the hell did it end up with BBC getting "some" live broadcast only, while another broadcaster gets full rights? This is just so weird.
Well, there is no way I'k lining the pockets of Mr Murdoch and his cronies.
Any one know if you can pick up F1 from anywhere on a Sat decoder? European video feed and 5Live on the stereo for next year then!
Some say he knows two facts about ducks and they are both wrong...
@bigandyclifton
I have a full sky package but I'm still not happy with F1 moving away from the BBC. Sky will never match the show quality that the BBC currently delivers. Imo Rupert Murdoch should have been arrested the moment he set foot on british soil over the hacking scandal, why is he free to run around and mess with F1??
I'm wondering if the BBC coverage of the Olympics in 2012 has any bearing on this issue? From what we've heard so far the F1 deal is until 2018, but we all know exactly what confidence we can place in long-term contracts!
I have sky but I will never pay for sky sports, I dont follow any other sports! Motorsports is the only sport I like to watch and it would make very expensive to take one sky sports just to watch F1.
Bernie= Time to retire oldman
"I cannot judge what he did in his time at Renault and McLaren but I have worked with World Champions Schumacher, Villeneuve and Raikkonen and Fernando is the one who impresses me the most," said Gene.
Sadly I too in exactly the same position.
Now that Sky is the main holder of the of the event and BBC only showing 10 races (which 10 will they chose ) then sky will no doubt make it very difficult for the BBC to ever get the rights to full coverage in the future.
I feel very let down by our national TV network.
Its all in the name - FERRARI
I live in South Africa where we get the races on DSTV from what I can only assume is the BBC broadcast. Wonder how this will affect us. Does anyone here in SA know?
. it seems the gutless BBC has listened to the stupid greens.
damn you. i cant watch half the races now!!!!
********************************
In Stefano Domenicali, we have a team boss who has proved to be a leader. - Luca diMontezemelo
SKY ITALIA did this for the World Cup as well. Half the games are free on RAI the others you need the expensive sports package to watch. So most of the population don't watch half the games.
F1 will be the same, i already pay the over rated SKY £50 a month for HD and films, I will not be paying the extra for sport as well.
F1 you have just turned your back on millions of viewers who will not pay for sky or upgrade existing packages for effectively one race a month!!!!
Bernie Ecclestone says Sky pay-to-view TV deal will grow F1's audience
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has promised that the sport's audience will grow with the onset of Sky's pay-to-view television deal from 2012.
A surprise deal was announced on Friday morning that the BBC and Sky Sports will share coverage of the sport in the UK from 2012 - with the satellite and cable broadcaster showing all live sessions while the BBC transmits only half on terrestrial digital television - prompting a wave of angry responses from license holders on internet forums and Twitter.
But Ecclestone, speaking after leaving a meeting to address the subject with F1's team principals, insisted that the deal is positive for the sport.
"It's good for Formula 1," he said. "For sure there are going to be a lot more people viewing, and a lot more opportunities for people to view, so from that point I'm very happy.
"I've been finalising this all night long and one or two things might change a little."
"Sky will broadcast everything, all the races, live. The Beeb will do 50 per cent live, and when it isn't live, they will be putting together a very good highlights package.
"They [BBC] may yet do the whole race deferred, we have to see."
Asked what he would say to fans who could not afford a Sky subscription, Ecclestone replied: "That's where the problem is, I know, but from what I understand Sky has enormous coverage, 10 million homes.
"For those who can't watch Sky, they can still watch on a Sunday night, which will probably be better than watching the whole race live half the time," he added.
Ecclestone added that the deal was not complicated by issues surrounding the current Concorde Agreement because the covenant comes to an end prior to the beginning of the Sky contract.
"The Concorde finishes in 2012," he said. "After then there may not be one, we don't need one. We'll see.
"But I think this is all positive, and having spoken to the teams, they think it's positive too."
Along with indicating that the deal was likely to mean more income for the teams, Ecclestone spoke about the general onset of pay-per-view television and how the media landscape affected F1 in the future.
"We do have to do the best we can, and I'm interested in getting the maximum coverage because we have to invest in the future for the good of the teams and for Formula 1," he said.
"I think in the end people will be more happy with this than they are at the moment."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93491
Last edited by aj17ay; 29th July 2011 at 16:37. Reason: added web link
Though I'm not sure how much faith you can put into online petitions, I've signed both of these:
http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/keepf1onthebbc
http://www.petitiononline.co.uk/peti...ee-to-air/3291
What a load of rubbish spewing out of his mouth
Since when its ever better to watch a delayed sports even instead of live?
Its all about money. I hope the teams and the track organizer will speak out against this. I think another Concord agreement would be better to ensure that Bernie and co. cannot simply make decisions based on money alone. I think its dangerous for the team to proceed without an agreement.
you can forget the teams mate.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93494
i want Luca back as chairman.
In Stefano Domenicali, we have a team boss who has proved to be a leader. - Luca diMontezemelo
As infuriating as this is, I don't think it's fair to blame Bernie or the teams for this. The BBC's budgets have been cut quite massively for next year onwards, as much as 20% I think. As a result of that, they have had to make cuts all across, including making many of their staff redundant. Understandably, their F1 coverage was taking a significant portion of the budget, so rather than lose it completely, they tried to come up with the best solution they could.
Ben Gallop, the BBC's head of F1 explains this a bit more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sportedit...red_betwe.html
It's not ideal of course, but given the challenging financial situation our economy is in, we could've had something much worse!
And also, BBC moving its offices out of Wood Lane (the famous Television Centre) into a new complex in Salford near Manchester is just part of the cost-cutting process unfortunately.
Last edited by epiclyaddicted; 29th July 2011 at 18:15.
The future is RED
what about all those "big names" they have getting paid stupid money for just presenting Lotto or chat shows (Winton&Norton name but two. All the football pundits? how much they get? how many do they really need? And yes, the Olympics, i bet they get money thrown at them for broadcasting, tonnes and tonnes of pundits, presenters and hangers on!!! . Beeb, im sorry got this totally wrong.
Sure, Sky has made helped make the Prem League what it is today. Hope if Sky money F1 goes that way Bernie dishes out the revenues fairly to all teams and less go out of the sprt to CVC or any where else. Now i got add sky sports on my package, tight at moment.
CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE
I feel like the BBC have sold out the fans, especially after all the fanfare of them GETTING the F1 coverage rights at the beginning of 2009. Sheesh, at least see out the contract.
I couldn't care less about the Olympics and I expect the BBC have thrown tons of cash at it to the detriment of other sports.
I have Sky but I don't have Sky Sports - it'll add about £20 onto my bill so that's over £60 a month I will be lining their pockets with. As much as I'd like to make a stand and not get it, I love F1 too much not to so I guess I will probably grit my teeth and pay for it. Like a lot of people it is going to make things tighter each month - I live on my own and am going to have to budget even more now.
Tbh though it's not the money that bugs me the most - BBC for all its faults has given us good coverage (despite EJ) for the most part these past few seasons, and I worry that Sky's tendency to sensationalise everything will lead to trashier coverage.
Forza Jules
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