F1 goes to Sky sports

[skells22]

still no news about the Sky races, are these guys waiting for Dec 7 to say it races.

[Mr V]

Why dec 7th?

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

His boring monotone voice should be a good cure for insomnia! Another reason I'm pleased to be saving my money by not subscribing...

Yes. It's a poor choice if true. There was nothing quite like Mansell's dry complaint delivery post-race. As a pundit though he'd make Mark Blundell seem like a variety act.

[henners88]

The line up (if true) looks pretty sub par IMO when compared to the present line up on the BBC. Brundle, Kravitz and Croft are valuable editions I'll agree, but the rest look like they were hired in desperation. Its certainly not a puller for present non subscribers and if I was in a position to pay out 40 quid a month, I'd expect it to at least be on par with the present 'free' option. Illegal streams and BBC highlights are looking more attractive especially as it'll be free lol.

[kart_racer]

Originally Posted by henners88

The line up (if true) looks pretty sub par IMO when compared to the present line up on the BBC. Brundle, Kravitz and Croft are valuable editions I'll agree, but the rest look like they were hired in desperation. Its certainly not a puller for present non subscribers and if I was in a position to pay out 40 quid a month, I'd expect it to at least be on par with the present 'free' option. Illegal streams and BBC highlights are looking more attractive especially as it'll be free lol.

£40 a month?

[henners88]

Originally Posted by kart_racer

£40 a month?

Shocking isn't it?
I've seen people mention you can get an add on for Virgin media which works out at £34 to £36p/m but big deal.

[kart_racer]

Originally Posted by henners88

Shocking isn't it?
I've seen people mention you can get an add on for Virgin media which works out at £34 to £36p/m but big deal.

I'm paying quite a lot already for SKY, I added the sport package for £10.. Someone has mentioned this will double, but quadruple? I hope not.

[Marbot]

According to their UK site, if you currently have SKY, you can add the Sky Sports package for £20 (£12 if you already have the movies pack) and upgrade to HD for an extra £10.25. ESPN is a further £9. All prices per month.

[kart_racer]

Originally Posted by Marbot

According to their UK site, if you currently have SKY, you can add the Sky Sports package for £20 (£12 if you already have the movies pack) and upgrade to HD for an extra £10.25. ESPN is a further £9. All prices per month.

Right, they added mine to the ''movies'' for £10, (I hope it stays this way) I had HD already, and I don't think I have ESPN. I have ESPN classic which is awesome for 60's and 70's F1

[Ingsy]

The thing I don't get about all of this, is that the deal was signed back in July, yet the BBC still doesn't seem to know what it's showing next year - full race re-runs or shortened highlights.

How can you sign a deal, and not know what you're going to be doing? Surely all that should have been sorted out before signing the deal in the first place. Seems a bit odd to me.

[Ingsy]

The thing I don't get about all of this, is that the deal was signed back in July, yet the BBC still doesn't seem to know what it's showing next year - full race re-runs or shortened highlights.

How can you sign a deal, and not know what you're going to be doing? Surely all that should have been sorted out before signing the deal in the first place. Seems a bit odd to me.

[kart_racer]

I'm a bit pished off about it all really.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Ingsy

The thing I don't get about all of this, is that the deal was signed back in July, yet the BBC still doesn't seem to know what it's showing next year - full race re-runs or shortened highlights.

How can you sign a deal, and not know what you're going to be doing? Surely all that should have been sorted out before signing the deal in the first place. Seems a bit odd to me.

I suppose that revealing your plans now may have a significant effect on how many current F1 viewers will switch to SKY as opposed to them staying and watching F1 on the BBC.

It will be very interesting to know what the viewing figures are next season for races that are shown at the same time by both SKY and the BBC, and then when SKY shows them live on its own.

[wolfhound]

If you really want to spend your hard earned now but if you really want to get F1 on sky I would wait to see how things shape up. Sky might offer the best coverage with a team that is very good or poorer than the BBC. BBC coverage could be good enough not to justify using sky unless you have to see the race live. If you wait untill at least January you should be sure to see all the races next year.

[Ingsy]

I hope the BBC have full re-runs, as I ended up seeing the highlights of Abu Dhabi and thought they were crap. It cut all flow out of the race and was much harder to follow. I'll have a tough decision to make, as a non Sky person at the moment, if they BBC doesn't have full length repeats.

[kart_racer]

Originally Posted by Ingsy

I hope the BBC have full re-runs, as I ended up seeing the highlights of Abu Dhabi and thought they were crap. It cut all flow out of the race and was much harder to follow. I'll have a tough decision to make, as a non Sky person at the moment, if they BBC doesn't have full length repeats.

I agree mate, Highlights are pish!!!!!!!!!!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by kart_racer

I agree mate, Highlights are pish!!!!!!!!!!

Pish and wind, as they say.

[strider]

The Daily Mail is not the most reliable source of information, but if this report is correct, Sky will be making the F1 coverage available to Freeview customers for a tenner a month.

Let's hope they've got it right.

[Down F0rce]

I've got a freesat box does that count?

Seems as though Sky have actually listened to fans concerns, which is a good start. I'm still not in favour of this if it means splitting up the BBC F1 team.

[MagnetON]

Hi folks, this is an announcement that will be going out from Sky:

SKY SPORTS F1 HD – THE ULTIMATE FORMULA 1 EXPERIENCE

SKY SPORTS will launch a dedicated channel for its new in-depth Formula 1 coverage, taking viewers under the skin of the sport.

Starting in March 2012, Sky Sports F1 HD will get Sky customers closer than ever, with more action, analysis and information - on their TV, online and mobile devices - throughout the season.

This new home of Formula 1 will be the only place to enjoy live coverage of the whole Grand Prix season, including all practice and qualifying sessions and every race in the calendar.

From launch,Sky Sports F1 HD will give viewers:

· EVERY RACE LIVE: From March to November, every moment of each race will be live in HD, without the interruption of adverts.

· LIVE PRACTICE & QUALIFYING: Every practice and qualifying session for each Grand Prix will be shown live on one channel, Sky Sports F1 HD.

· THE FULL SEASON IN-DEPTH:Over nine full months, viewers will have a wealth of programmes with in-depth interviews, archive action and weekly magazine shows.

· EXTRA LIVE CONTENT: Through Sky’s interactive service, fans can follow the action through on-board cameras, go behind the scenes with the teams in the pits, and follow race data, to take them further inside the sport.

The dedicated channel will be providedat no extra charge to all Sky TV customers who take both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 or the HD pack of channels. It will be found at 408 in Sky’s on-screen guide, after a scheduled move of the Sky Sports channels. Sky Sports viewers without the Sky+ HD pack will receive a standard definition version.

Sky Sports F1 HD viewers can also follow the action wherever they are with all live coverage on Sky Go, through online, mobile or tablet devices, at no extra charge.

Announcing the new channel,Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: “Formula 1 followers are hungry for more and we want to give them the ultimate experience. It’s not just every minute of every race but a channel devoted to Formula 1.

He continued: “We can now tell the whole story of the season, from every Grand Prix TM, from start to finish. Formula 1 will get the full Sky Sports treatment. We have big plans for live shows and a rich line-up of Formula 1 programmes; getting to the drivers, exploring the technology and lapping up the drama.

“With a dedicated channel for Formula 1 we can also give all sports fans the depth and breadth of sports they demand every weekend, right through the year.”

Jeremy Darroch,Sky’s Chief Executive, added: “This brand new channel again proves Sky’s commitment to investing in the best content for customers. It will give even more value to Sky customers and create another reason for others to consider pay TV.

“This is another example of the value we are creating for customers through our content leadership. It follows the recent launch of other high-quality new channels like Sky Atlantic and Sky 3D as well as our growing commitment to UK original content in areas such as drama, comedy and the arts.”

More information on Sky Sports F1 HD can be found at http://www.sky.com/f1

[jondownunder]

My big question would be what about the support races?

I think I heard a rumour that Sky would have GP2 along with their F1 deal?

I know the BBC had the option to show all the support races on the red button but apparently chose not to, hence Eurosport again picking up GP2.

As Eurosport have been so shockingly bad in covering GP2 and GP3 (not sure a single Saturday race was shown live this year?) I'd love to see Sky include live coverage on their F1 channel. The big loss would be Martin Haven, but his talents are wasted anyway with the amateur-hour Eurosport scheduling and editing of non-live races.

Anyone know more about the rights to the support races?

As an existing subscriber (somewhat reluctantly) to Sky, I admit the whole F1-to-Sky issue hasn't affected me like it understandably has for many people. Personally the news that practice is on a dedicated Sky channel (easily recorded with Sky+ unlike the BBC red button stuff) is great, just very disappointed not to have heard anything about GP2 and GP3(Formula Lawnmower) yet. After all they have far better racing than F1!

[VIVA GT]

It certainly looks like good coverage, but I'm still not prepared to pay extra for it (and it may appear 'cheap' to start with, but once you're hooked, what's the chance of the prices going up?). Plus, I just don't want a dustbin lid on the side of my house...

[Marbot]

hmmm.....that's a bit of a 'game-changer' is that.

[strider]

I think I'm going to have to get out my rather moth eaten old lawyer's hat and look at the fine print of this very carefully.

There are loads of comments coming out of Brazil on Twitter on this and one of them was that person in question was never going to believe a story from the Daily Mail again, so I'm glad I qualified my previous post.

To give you a specific example, I've just had an interesting chat with Sky about my account. At the moment I'm paying £57 a month, which my standards is too much. They're saying that when the discounted rate at which I've been receiving Sky Sports comes to an end, that will go up to to £68, so I've cancelled it. I can get what what I want for £38 per month. If I can jump on the tenner a month bandwagon that will be £48 a month, which is just about tolerable. I have this self-imposed limit of £50 pm.

i think I may be able to get it because I do have Sky HD in the sitting room and Sky+ in the dining room. I've been using this to watch FP1 from Brazil.

Unfortunately i do need Sky because the terrestrial signal around here is very poor, but in March for my particular part of the world everything goes digital anyway.

Understand why I'm confused? If all else fails I shall ask to change my vote from 1 to 2, even if I do lose Martin Brundle. Anthony Davidson will be a more than adequate replacement, although last I heard DC was staying put.

Apologies for the length of this.

[bella]

unless i'm missing something, they don't say whether they'll be supplying freeview coverage and whether it'll be hd or not.

it wouldn't change my mind if i was a potential sky customer though.