Sky to have exclusive F1 live broadcast rights?

07/06/2012

11 Comments

 
[UPDATED]: I seem to have grabbed the wrong end of the stick with this one, so check out my more recent piece.

Ever since Sky and the BBC agreed to split F1 coverage for the UK, there have been all sorts of rumours doing the rounds about just how the partnership is going to pan out in future.

I've been told that Sky's commitment to broadcast the races free from commercial interruption is a one-year thing, and that fans can expect ad breaks from 2013 onwards. But I've not been told that by anyone from Sky, so make of it what you will...

The latest bit of news - which comes via Italian news agency AGI.it and doesn't appear to have been reported widely elsewhere - claims that Sky will hold exclusive rights to the live broadcast of races from 2013 onwards.

If that's the case, then cash-strapped British F1 fans will have to rely on the BBC's highlights coverage for their Formula One fix, with no live races available to view on FTA television.

According to AGI, this change in rights comes about thanks to a new deal between Sky and FOM. But if it is true, then it represents a breach in the promise made to British F1 fans last summer: that coverage would be split between the two broadcasters till the BBC's contract expired in 2018.

And while this new deal doesn't prevent the BBC from turning up to all of the races and doing their thing, it seems like a lot of money to spend on what is only going to be a highlights show. At this point, it looks as though the Corporation (although not the fans) would be best served by restricting their coverage to an inexpensive studio in London or Salford.

Depressing or what?
 


Comments

Tony
07/06/2012 09:51

I think Murray used to do commentary from a studio at some far away races. In fact I think Japan 76 was one. So if Rush has him interviewing Master James after the race it's wrong :-). Btw have you seen the article about Rush in last months Motor Sport the replicas look quite good but the Shadows have Valvoline on them not UOP product Placement?

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Kate link
08/06/2012 02:53

Many of his races were done from a studio in London, including the 1984 Monaco GP. The rain killed the TV sets that the BBC's man on the ground was using to feed information back to the BBC, so apparently much of the commentary for the end of that race was done completely blind. Impressive, no?

I'd not seen the piece, but you're probably right about product placement vs reality. Shame, as so much of what they've shot looks faithful to the aesthetic of the time.

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Leigh O'Gorman link
08/06/2012 09:18

Murray did not cover the '76 Japanese GP, so technically he could have interviewed James - if he had been there.
;)

Optimaximal
07/06/2012 10:17

There's a bit of confusion here. The AGI article's engrish translation doesn't help, but it seems that Bernie has done a similar deal in Italy as in the UK, giving Sky Italia all the races live whilst leaving select races as FTA.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ecclestone-inks-split-broadcasting-deal-for-italy/

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Kate link
08/06/2012 02:50

Thanks for that - I love that the original piece didn't mention the difference... Have written a clarification and will edit this piece accordingly.

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Alianora La Canta link
07/06/2012 21:20

Why oh why didn't Sky Italia learn from last time it tried this? It took the F1 rights (admittedly partially) in the middle of last decade but didn't renew because it wasn't affordable.

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Kate link
08/06/2012 02:51

So this'll be good, then. Sigh.

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BasCB
08/06/2012 09:12

I saw Bernie now comparing everyone having Sky access (10 million in the UK?) with viewing figures on the BBC and saying Sky gives higher viewing rates.
Perfectly fits in with him talking about how good this turn to the bad if for everyone. After all, I doubt Sky ever hit more than half a million F1 viewers in the UK, but hey, who wants to hear reality stand in the way of making money

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Kate link
08/06/2012 19:07

Yes, he doesn't seem to get that just having Sky in your house doesn't mean it will be turned to channel 408.

But does it really matter to him, as long as the money keeps rolling in?

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peter twentyman
04/03/2013 01:45

i'm not really into sport but the way i see it i will have to take out a package from sky of sports i don't want just to get to see f1 live, know one likes a gun held to there head !!! so it looks like i'll be missing my f1 after over 40 years of watching it

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Kate link
04/03/2013 03:43

I have a very old CRT TV set at home. It's a bit fuzzy, but it's fine. It works, and that's all I need. But I ended up paying for the HDTV package on Sky because it was the cheapest way to get the F1 channel. How stupid is that?

Apparently there are cards you can buy that will enable you to pick up the coverage from other countries, but I don't know how they work. I'm sure Google knows the ins and outs, though!

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