F1 goes to Sky sports

[Thaw Daggerslash]

My response to this is that it's pretty rubbish. Not a great selection of races that the BBC are showing, and they don't even bother showing the first race live. No doubt there will be stuff you'll miss in the highlights and won't be able to correctly assess the race.

It's depressing. F1's been a big part of my life for the past 15 or more years, and now it has come to this. I wonder what planet BBC, Sky, the teams, everyone is on when they say this is "great" for the fans. I'm failing to see how it is great in the least little way.

Oh well. At least next year it'll give me more chance to go out to live races. Hopefully the majority of the British fan base will too, and discover that there's a whole other world to motorsport other than just F1.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Aren't they being a bit OTT with SSF1-HD? I can't see much evidence of a wild surge of new subscribers even among hardcore fans.

I am fortunate enough to have SKY-HD with the 'entertainments' package, which apparently gives you the F1 channel for free. I am reliably informed that a good majority of households with SKY in the UK have this package. To upgrade to HD is around a tenner per month. HD box was free.

[Flavio Galtieri]

It's depressing. F1's been a big part of my life for the past 15 or more years, and now it has come to this. I wonder what planet BBC, Sky, the teams, everyone is on when they say this is "great" for the fans. I'm failing to see how it is great in the least little way.

You are right. It's not good for the fans, not good for the sponsors who will a lose vast amount of exposure and not good for F1 in the long term.

It's a short term fix to help the BBC out of it's funding hole, ensure Bernie, the teams and presenters are paid and to hell with the rest of us. To Murdoch it's manna from heaven.

Free to air coverage is essential for F1 in the UK. Without it there will be problems down the line. This isn't the Premier League, or even Speedway, there is one UK based event per year. Support and interest will nosedive, particularly when it all goes to Sky later on. The sport will come to regret this decision, of that I have no doubt.

[wolfhound]

Could not agree more with Flavio, as being on Sky will remove a lot of casual viewers from F1 reducing the fan base long term. It looks like for non Sky viewers its back to the 80's.

[Adam43]

F1 was better when less people liked it

[Mystery]

I think this deal is poor but not terrible for F1. Sky have committed to do a proper job with F1. Giving it a whole channel looks like overkill until you remember their Football PPV coverage had a channel used for 2 hours a week tops, nine months of the year.

I'm looking forward to it but want to hear good things about the coverage. Brundle commentating, Huewen and Haven involved somewhere, support races shown. Then they'll guarantee I'll be watching.

[Super Hans]

I've recently cancelled Sky Sports but I'll probably resubscribe next Spring for the F1.

[Sodemo]

We currently recieve Sky Sports but only really for the football. I live in a shared flat and quite frankly, if it weren't for the fact that we all chip in for the Sky costs, I wouldn't bother getting it just for the F1.

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

Free to air coverage is essential for F1 in the UK. Without it there will be problems down the line. This isn't the Premier League, or even Speedway, there is one UK based event per year. Support and interest will nosedive, particularly when it all goes to Sky later on. The sport will come to regret this decision, of that I have no doubt.

This is the nub of the dilemma methinks.

[Super Hans]

F1's popularity and commercial appeal has grown hugely in recent decades, but it hasn't necessarily improved the spectacle. Quite the opposite, some might say. Therefore a decline in viewing figures wouldn't really bother me, as long as the racing was interesting.

[Super Hans]

F1's popularity and commercial appeal has grown hugely in recent decades, but it hasn't necessarily improved the spectacle. Quite the opposite, some might say. Therefore a decline in viewing figures wouldn't really bother me, as long as the racing was interesting.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Adam43

F1 was better when less people liked it

F1 was better when less people liked it, according to some people.

It still seems that a lot of people aren't getting the '£10 SKY-HD upgrade gets you F1 for free' thing?

[Flavio Galtieri]

Originally Posted by Super Hans

F1's popularity and commercial appeal has grown hugely in recent decades, but it hasn't necessarily improved the spectacle. Quite the opposite, some might say. Therefore a decline in viewing figures wouldn't really bother me, as long as the racing was interesting.

With all due respect, it doesn't really matter whether or not a decline in viewing figures bothers you or not. It is whether a decline in viewing figures will bother the sponsors, who ultimately pay for all this, that is important.

Inevitably it will be the smaller teams who suffer most if a move to ppv is replicated elsewhere.

Look at the decline of Indycar, a perfect case study of where a deal with a cable operator can get you in terms of profile reduction and hence the perceived value of sponsorship. And next year they won't even have Danica.

[brands]

Brundle move to Sky confirmed http://bit.ly/vKrB8m

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

With all due respect, it doesn't really matter whether or not a decline in viewing figures bothers you or not.

It does to Super Hans.

It is whether a decline in viewing figures will bother the sponsors, who ultimately pay for all this, that is important.

Inevitably it will be the smaller teams who suffer most if a move to ppv is replicated elsewhere.

It might be the best way to control costs! Which they have been trying to do.

Look at the decline of Indycar, a perfect case study of where a deal with a cable operator can get you in terms of profile reduction and hence the perceived value of sponsorship. And next year they won't even have Danica.

Is this another example of racing getting better?

[andy666]

Originally Posted by Marbot

F1 was better when less people liked it, according to some people.

It still seems that a lot of people aren't getting the '£10 SKY-HD upgrade gets you F1 for free' thing?

I get the £10 HD thing and now i feel like a hypocrite , I have ranted and thrown my dummy out all over the place since the F1 to Sky drama started and now we are at the last race I must admit I am considering getting the HD pack in the Spring.

[Flavio Galtieri]

Originally Posted by Adam43

It might be the best way to control costs!

Yes indeed!

Fewer viewers, less sponsorship equals budget reductions! Brilliant, now I understand.

A bit like mass unemployment equals lower inflation and price reductions in the shops really. I get it now.

Oh well it's a done deal now, let's see how it goes. I hope I am wrong on all counts and F1 continues to flourish wherever it's watched.

[strider]

Brundle has hit on the very reason why I shall be going with Sky, at least part of the time. I like to see the action live. It's just not the same watching recorded highlights, when you probably know the result.

An exception is that I have been known to record very early start races and then watch them when I get up, having carefully avoided looking at anything that might give me the result.

[raymondu999]

BBC have removed Brundle, Ted Kravitz and Lee Mckenzie from their BBC F1 twitter list this morning

https://twitter.com/#!/bbcsportwebsite/f1/members

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Flavio Galtieri

Yes indeed!

Fewer viewers, less sponsorship equals budget reductions! Brilliant, now I understand.

A bit like mass unemployment equals lower inflation and price reductions in the shops really. I get it now.

Oh well it's a done deal now, let's see how it goes. I hope I am wrong on all counts and F1 continues to flourish wherever it's watched.

That was a little of what i was getting at, yes. Except that F1 is a Sport, so the other consequences aren't as dear.
I do realise that F1 teams employ people before you take what I say too far.

My only point was that it doesn't need to be so big and expensive to be good. It doesn't have to be so popular to be good. See 1986. Yes, I am a fanatic, I don't care if others like it!

I also think it should be free to view and the beeb coverage has been the best. However I like posing opposing view points in this thread to combat the hysteria.

[expaddockrunner]

Originally Posted by brands

Brundle move to Sky confirmed http://bit.ly/vKrB8m

As long as he can still do the grid walk.

Sky have a FULL Page advert in the Sunday Mirror today, already for next years new channel!

[EvilPumpkin]

Originally Posted by expaddockrunner

As long as he can still do the grid walk.

Yep. He's confirmed it on twitter. Grid walk stays

[G.Walker]

Thanks F1, this is where our relationship now becomes more open, perhaps we will bump into each other next year, more often late at night.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I don't know if anyone has noticed but Vettel and no doubt Webber, appear to be sporting Sky logos on the upper right arm of their racing overalls.

[brands]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I don't know if anyone has noticed but Vettel and no doubt Webber, appear to be sporting Sky logos on the upper right arm of their racing overalls.

They had a small decal in the side of the car towards the rear as well. A spot on the car for "local" sponsors. During FP1 it was said it was the Brazilian Sky TV, don't know if that's part of Murdock empire.