BBC Coverage

[philipbain]

That suggests to me that the BBC are still the primary source for many fans viewing F1 in the UK. These figures can be seen at both the F1 Broadcasting Blog and at Barb. You should read some facts rather than puff pieces put out by BSKYB.

I didn't even mention viewing figures, they are not my concern to be quite honest, I couldn't give a damn if I was the only person watching, that's for Sky to worry about, not me! All I was saying that in my opinion the quality of coverage that Sky offers trounces the BBC whose coverage has lost it's edge, combine that with the fact that the bitrate and resulting picture and sound quality of BBC One HD is a joke and Sky Sports F1 HD's coverage looks better and is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround it's clear to me which i'd rather watch!

I'm considering getting a SkyBox F5 fitted this year to watch all Sky channels for free

Sounds totally legit.....

[Dave B]

I'm considering getting a SkyBox F5 fitted this year to watch all Sky channels for free

A note of caution: Sky are getting very good at shutting down these servers, and of course it's not "free" you're trusting your money (anything from £50 - £100) to an anonymous person with no incentive to refund you if (or more likely when) things go pear shaped.

[henners88]

I didn't even mention viewing figures, they are not my concern to be quite honest, I couldn't give a damn if I was the only person watching, that's for Sky to worry about, not me! All I was saying that in my opinion the quality of coverage that Sky offers trounces the BBC whose coverage has lost it's edge, combine that with the fact that the bitrate and resulting picture and sound quality of BBC One HD is a joke and Sky Sports F1 HD's coverage looks better and is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround it's clear to me which i'd rather watch!

Well its great you have justification for paying for it if you are bothered about the sound quality. For me that is less of a need, just so long as I can watch the race. I'm not bothered about the build up on Sky because its not a patch on the BBC's effort IMHO, so tuning in for the race is more of a need for me. Another reason why a subscription would be a waste of money. If I'm not bothering with the extras Sky offer, then the price of the package combined with what I would watch is extremely expensive and I simply can't justify that.

I'm considering getting a SkyBox F5 fitted this year to watch all Sky channels for free

Sounds totally legit.....

Its far from legit. I could couldn't give a monkeys whether it is legit or not so long as I get to see what I want and at a reasonable cost. This system costs less than a hundred quid to install and runs in HD. It means I would get all the sports channels, movies, and entertainment channels, not that I am particularly bothered about all that as I have FreeSat anyway which I will continue to use as my primary viewing source. I would likely only use this additional box to watch GP's.

I'm considering getting a SkyBox F5 fitted this year to watch all Sky channels for free

A note of caution: Sky are getting very good at shutting down these servers, and of course it's not "free" you're trusting your money (anything from £50 - £100) to an anonymous person with no incentive to refund you if (or more likely when) things go pear shaped.

I've heard those warnings before but yet to know anybody who has been affected by having their box closed down. I know the guy who sells them and a close family member of mine has had one for nearly a year now with no issues at all. Even if I had it for a few months and it suddenly shut down, it would still be cheaper than a genuine subscription for the same period of time. I'm sure my mate would help me out if that ever happened in any case. These boxes are surprising popular in my area as the cost of having Sky is expensive during these tougher times for most people. Sure we can say if you can't afford it don't have it, but when there is a cheaper alternative to paying a greedy company, I'm all in favour of it anyway

I don't condone using this method to anybody and would never promote it or give details in public. Just sharing my personal opinion and a potential option I have in future. We are all committed F1 fans and we shouldn't begrudge others from finding a way of watching the great sport. There are plenty of F1 fans watching live internet streams after all which are just as illegal.

[Jag_Warrior]

There are plenty of F1 fans watching live internet streams after all which are just as illegal.

As someone whose goal in life this year is to become a "cord cutter" by December (either going to basic HD cable and internet streaming or just internet streaming and a digital antennae on my house), it wouldn't hurt my feelings if someone mentioned what some of these sources might be. Being a total law & order sort of fellow, I would never use them for entertainment purposes. No! But I may do a bit of investigative journalism in the future and I could use these streams to work on my journalism project. Yeah, that's it! I promise to get no pleasure from any lap or pass that I happen to see. The check is in the mail, I'll love you in the morning and you can't get pregnant the first time.

Jokes aside, I'm willing to pay to watch F1. I have no issue with that. But since DirecTV ($100+/month for what???!!!) and the American broadcast mafia won't allow us to have a la carte programming, I really am willing to do what I need to do to get what I want. IMO, even as an American, I should be able to pay the BBC, Sky, Netflix, Amazon or iTunes (or NBCSports - without having to pay for the other crap channels on DirecTV or cable) to get my F1 programming over the internet. Bernie's deal with NBCSports is not my problem. I didn't sign off on it.

[acescribe]

Word is Gary Anderson will not be part of the BBC coverage team this year.

[henners88]

Word is Gary Anderson will not be part of the BBC coverage team this year.

A rumour that has been unconfirmed for several days now.

It'll be a shame if true, but we'll have to wait and see.

[christophulus]

If they have removed him it's a very poor decision. He wasn't a natural in front of the camera (or behind the mic) by any means, but his technical insight was one of the most interesting parts of last season in my opinion. I hope they have someone in mind to replace him.

The only person I'd get rid of, sadly, is Suzi Perry. I gave it a year but I just don't think she's a good fit for the coverage.

Having said that, my opinion won't count for much as I really can't get excited about next year, so I don't imagine I'll be watching many of the races live!

[steveaki13]

If its true they are letting GA go, that is crazy.

He is so knowledgeable. It makes you wonder who they are going to be getting in. Someone equally knowledgeable or someone attractive/entertaining

[Mark]

He's a knowledgeable guy, make no mistake, but he wasn't a very good pit lane presenter and wasn't good in front of the camera. These things do matter.

[steveaki13]

I know, but although I don't watch much BBC stuff. I would still rather a knowledgeable GA than a trendy whoever that knows little about F1.

I listen on Radio to Fridays quite often and I enjoy his work.