F1 to leave terrestrial Tv

[emporer_k]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35889736

From 2019 F1 will be broadcast exclusively on Sky.

Although this announcement seemed somewhat inevitable from the day Sky secured joint broadcasting rights it's sad to see the sport disappear behind a paywall, because it will exclude both current fans and I fear prevent future fans from discovering the sport.

It also adds to my view that those running the sport are only interested in generating as much revenue as they can as quickly as they can rather than building value.

[AndyL]

Some small consolation that they will be showing highlights on an FTA channel (presumably satellite not terrestrial, but if FTA then it would be available on Freesat etc.). But I expect their highlights package will be treated as an extended trailer for Sky Sports rather than core programming like it was for the BBC and is for Channel 4.

[Starter]

What's the success rate for sports on pay TV in general? There is no chance that Bernie is letting those rights go cheaply. They'll need a LOT of viewers just to break even.

[Mark]

F1 has already lost it's 'caché' when the BBC dropped doing full live coverage and for many not being able to see live coverage at all in the UK is going to be it's death knell, at least in this country.

The 'channel' thing doesn't sound encouraging either, if the likes of the BBC or Ch4 were to have a guaranteed highlights package for each race it wouldn't be so bad.

At the moment I still have Sky Sports F1 for free, lets hope they don't go back on that deal!

[Mark]

What's the success rate for sports on pay TV in general? There is no chance that Bernie is letting those rights go cheaply. They'll need a LOT of viewers just to break even.

It depends on the sport. Premier League football in the UK is wildly successful on Sky Sports and the league is the richest in the world as a result. But that's because vast numbers of people are prepared to pay to watch their team. Is that the same with F1?

[henners88]

Although it's a tough thing to come to terms with, I will be ending my viewership of Formula One in 2018. I've not been following it as avidly as I used to in recent years due to family commitments and the rather poor quality of the sport in general. It's glory days are in the past and the desperation they've shown trying to spice the 'show' up has sadly demonstrated that.

Moving the coverage completely off free to air is just a big two fingers up to fans. It's basically suggesting unless you have a lot of money, you don't deserve to watch and unfortunately it's really not worth the premium in any case.

Even with rapidly diminishing viewing figures the decision makers have forced the sport down this route. The teams stay awkwardly quiet because they have a financial interest in deals like this. It's easier to avoid it, take the money, give fake statements about appreciating fans. It's a sad state of affairs but one that has been coming for years. It's losing appeal and the only way to secure the money coming in is to sell off the tv rights. The next action will be reduced races per year and circuits like Monza, Silverstone, and Spa disappearing off the calendar.

[Starter]

Although it's a tough thing to come to terms with, I will be ending my viewership of Formula One in 2018. I've not been following it as avidly as I used to in recent years due to family commitments and the rather poor quality of the sport in general. It's glory days are in the past and the desperation they've shown trying to spice the 'show' up has sadly demonstrated that.

Moving the coverage completely off free to air is just a big two fingers up to fans. It's basically suggesting unless you have a lot of money, you don't deserve to watch and unfortunately it's really not worth the premium in any case.

Even with rapidly diminishing viewing figures the decision makers have forced the sport down this route. The teams stay awkwardly quiet because they have a financial interest in deals like this. It's easier to avoid it, take the money, give fake statements about appreciating fans. It's a sad state of affairs but one that has been coming for years. It's losing appeal and the only way to secure the money coming in is to sell off the tv rights. The next action will be reduced races per year and circuits like Monza, Silverstone, and Spa disappearing off the calendar.

Yes, it reminds me a bit of CART in the US when the owners took the money and ran.

[Rollo]

unfortunately it's really not worth the premium in any case.

The Pay TV coverage doesn't offer anything other than what that free-to-air did a decade ago; literary nothing.

[Bagwan]

Things are changing faster than something that's really quick .

A wee electronic devise available almost everywhere can circumnavigate Rupert or anyone else .

Rupert must be sweating .

It's the same in the music industry . Nobody knows how they are going to make any money in the future , other than going out and playing gigs .


Dip your hands into the stream , kids , and watch Rupert float away .

[henners88]

As Bagwan said there are 3 or 4 alternatives that I know of where you can get access or even full Sky coverage including every single channel for a fraction of the official cost. I have a SkyBox F5 that is affectively running Android and uses my satellite feed and Internet connection. It costs about £30 for a years support as Sky do tend to scramble the feed every 4 months. It does mean we have access to Sky's full offering. You can get Amazon Fire sticks with software on them to do pretty much the same thing. Facebook is full of these devices but you have to understand they are not authorised. I wouldn't condone using them