F1 goes to Sky sports

[rdjones]

I just don't get this at all and from what I have read both here and else where I am yet to find anyone who is in favour if this deal. I have Sky but don't have Sky Sports because as much as I would love to have I am not in a position at present to afford it.

[Moneyseeker]

Another factor in this is I wonder how it will effect BBC's negotiations on TV rights for other sports - rivals will no doubt point out the F1 example and that BBC broke their agreement because it didn't suit them...

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by Jamesy-18

"We have to be flexible and adaptable, we're operating in a very tough financial climate blah blah."

Well get rid of some of the other sh*t cluttering the BBC at the moment? Why not flog something like the dead horse that is Eastenders off to Sky? Or get rid of BBC3 and 4 - channels that have rubbish viewing figures, but take up a very high proportion of the BBC's budget?

If I was in charge of the BBC, I wouldn't find it hard to cut costs to keep F1! :P

They will waste double what they spend on F1 in a blink of an eye. The Beeb likes to present itself as watching every penny, but does it. Over £180M per year to run BBC3 and BBC4, why does BBC need fringe digital channels, it's supposed to be a public service broadcaster. And they are spending hundreds of millions moving to Salford to save money....

[Fox89]

Originally Posted by bella

it really is £600 a year for new customers. to add the sports pack to an existing basic contract is £243 a year.

http://www.sky.com/quickbuy/build

I have Virgin Media but...no, no Sky channels. So £600. Which is actually devalued even further by the fact that half the races are on the beeb. So we'd actually only be paying for TEN races per year (although to clarify, I am grateful that it's not a complete move to PayTV).

Feel sorry for all the casual fans the BBC have built up for F1 since 2009. I wonder how many of those will continue to watch it on Sky if they don't already have the service. I know motorsport is the pursuit of the wealthy, but I didn't realize watching it was as well.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Jamesy-18

"We have to be flexible and adaptable, we're operating in a very tough financial climate blah blah."

Well get rid of some of the other sh*t cluttering the BBC at the moment? Why not flog something like the dead horse that is Eastenders off to Sky? Or get rid of BBC3 and 4 - channels that have rubbish viewing figures, but take up a very high proportion of the BBC's budget?

If I was in charge of the BBC, I wouldn't find it hard to cut costs to keep F1! :P

A tough financial climate of their own making; over paying their excecutives and TV personalities, with no regard to the future, just like New Labour.

They do have some good programmes on BBC3 and 4 but they do show a lot of dross, like Eastenders.

[Jamesy-18]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

They will waste double what they spend on F1 in a blink of an eye. The Beeb likes to present itself as watching every penny, but does it. Over £180M per year to run BBC3 and BBC4, why does BBC need fringe digital channels, it's supposed to be a public service broadcaster. And they are spending hundreds of millions moving to Salford to save money....

Couldn't have put it better myself.

I think that interview is the typical bullsh*t you'll inevitably get surrounding something like this. Trying to worm out of it and look like they're pleasing people, which based on here and numerous other forums, they've completely failed to achieve.

Like how she totally dodged the last question really. I don't give a sh*t about any of the other sport BBC shows. The only sport I watch on BBC is the Formula One. I couldn't care less about the bloody Derby or Six Nations. Therefore, seeing as they are only showing half a season, I still think it should be okay to pay half the license fee. :P

[Pingguest]

So far the teams aren't protesting heavily against the deal. As if this deal isn't against their commercial interests.

[Jamesy-18]

Originally Posted by Pingguest

So far the teams aren't protesting heavily against the deal. As if this deal isn't against their commercial interests.

Don't think there's really much chance of that happening anyway. As ever, nobody in F1 gives a sh*t what the fans think/want. Which is okay, because soon they'll get to learn exactly why the fans matter so much when the viewing figures are pathetic next season.

[chillibowl]

im a little surprised the BBC did not make money of their F1 coverage.

they dont have to pay the crew filming the race, they dont have to edit anything other than the world feed, they sell their broadcast rights to other countries (Canada for sure).

as far as i can tell their costs are to BE for the rights and for the costs of prerace shows and sending a couple of groups of commentators around the world to cover it.

side by side coverage for adverts is essentially all they would have had to do to justify those expenses. but people dont want ads they just want things for free but i suppose that is also BE's fault?

[Fox89]

Ecclestone says this will help more people see F1.

Not entirely sure how as, if you have the Sky then you have BBC... but oh well. He says "The BBC might yet do the entire race deferred". Now, if they do THAT, and slap their own commentary team over the top, I won't be too upset. Waiting a few hours for a re-run of the race is something I can live with.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

im a little surprised the BBC did not make money of their F1 coverage.

they dont have to pay the crew filming the race, they dont have to edit anything other than the world feed, they sell their broadcast rights to other countries (Canada for sure).

as far as i can tell their costs are to BE for the rights and for the costs of prerace shows and sending a couple of groups of commentators around the world to cover it.

side by side coverage for adverts is essentially all they would have had to do to justify those expenses. but people dont want ads they just want things for free but i suppose that is also BE's fault?

The problem the BBC faces is due to their overspending and now they are feeling the pinch, so they have had to cut back.

[Fox89]

Ecclestone, on the rumored News Corp takeover back in May:

"Sky is doing an incredible job, but if you look at their audience they are nowhere. With these figures it would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors. That would be suicidal."

Fortunately that stopped being the case since...last night I guess.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

The problem the BBC faces is due to their overspending and now they are feeling the pinch, so they have had to cut back.

i get that and naturally i am assuming that they are cutting back on programs that dont make them money.

what i dont understand is why they dont make money off F1. i have no doubt that SKY will make money with their deal and will no doubt make even more money whey they get their hands on every live race.

[ghinzani]

Originally Posted by Fox89

Ecclestone, on the rumored News Corp takeover back in May:



Fortunately that stopped being the case since...last night I guess.

spot on


I know he is a small target but how much does a decent hitman run at?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

i get that and naturally i am assuming that they are cutting back on programs that dont make them money.

what i dont understand is why they dont make money off F1. i have no doubt that SKY will make money with their deal and will no doubt make even more money whey they get their hands on every live race.

F1 does make them money, as they export their coverage but I think a lot of the thinking behind this is due to F1 viewing figures. It's very popular but it serves a niche market and therefore too limited an audience, for the BBC's liking.

[joe rossi]

Bernie finally kills the Golden Goose...best coverage and presenters in years and rising audiences will now be decimated by the Beeb's stupidity and Bernie's lack of interest in his audience.

Who will bother paying to watch Hungary, Valencia, Spain or Turkey? All tedious races that will now probably be stuffed with 5 min ad breaks anyway.

Once again the BBC forgets it's charter..give the people what they want and stop wasting OUR cash on politically correct moves to Salford and crappy BBC 3 "comedies"

[Fox89]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

F1 does make them money, as they export their coverage but I think a lot of the thinking behind this is due to F1 viewing figures. It's very popular but it serves a niche market and therefore too limited an audience, for the BBC's liking.

Doctor Who episode 'Day of the Moon' earlier this year: 5.4 million viewers.

Canadian GP: 8 million viewers (also known as 12.5% of the British population)

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Fox89

Doctor Who episode 'Day of the Moon' earlier this year: 5.4 million viewers.

Canadian GP: 8 million viewers.

Unfortunately Doctor Who is slowly going down the pan and I think that's down to overkill, through over exposure.

Good to see the Canadian GP getting 8 million.

[Fox89]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Good to see the Canadian GP getting 8 million.

Which is only 500k short of the combined counts of ITV and ESPN for the FA Cup final! I think it's safe to say that this move is definitely not about bad viewing figures

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by joe rossi

Who will bother paying to watch Hungary, Valencia, Spain or Turkey? All tedious races that will now probably be stuffed with 5 min ad breaks anyway.

Sky aren't showing advert breaks during the races.

[Fox89]

Good news!

BBC will show entire races deferred, says Whitmarsh.

"From what Bernie has said it's better than expected," said Whitmarsh.

"The BBC will show every grand prix in full, half of them live and half of them deferred, so free-to-air is available to everyone.

"Sky sound like they are really going to commit to it as well, so it sounds like there is a little bit of competition between the BBC and Sky.

"So overall, from Bernie's view, it will increase the total viewership within the UK.

"Bernie assured me, and I asked him several times, the deferred coverage will not be highlights, it will be a full race.

Bernie had better stick to that!!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Fox89

Which is only 500k short of the combined counts of ITV and ESPN for the FA Cup final! I think it's safe to say that this move is definitely not about bad viewing figures

What were the BBC's viewing figures for the FA Cup final?

[chunterer]

Full length delayed, is that what that means??

I thought it was just extended highlights (1 hours instead of 30 mins?)

Whatever, us terrestrial/cable viewers will still miss out on qualifying won't we Bernie.

How on earth can anyone justify giving any deal to the SKY family whilst there is such neagtive opinion towards the Murdoch's?

Smart move Ecclestone.

[johntt]

Originally Posted by Fox89

Good news!

BBC will show entire races deferred, says Whitmarsh.



Bernie had better stick to that!!

Like he stuck to his word on F1 being free to air I assume?

The sooner Bernie goes the better.

[Fox89]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

What were the BBC's viewing figures for the FA Cup final?

0, I think, as it was only on ITV (edit: and ESPN)

I looked back on previous years though out of curiosity, and they were all around the same. 7-8 million.

Full length delayed, is that what that means??

I thought it was just extended highlights (1 hours instead of 30 mins?)

Yes, it means delayed full races. The original plan was just extended highlights, but apparently Bernie has been reconsidering. If what he told Martin is true, he has changed his mind and will now allow the BBC to show deferred races. Definitely not official yet though, still at 'something I decided over lunch after seeing the internet reaction' stage.