[UK] So, how are you watching it? [Archive]

christophulus

6th March 2012, 20:05

Mainly aimed at those of us who watch the UK feed, but how are you planning on following this season of F1? Obviously Sky have everything live, but not all of us (myself included) are able to get it.

So, what's the plan? Specifically for the Aus GP and the other ones BBC1 doesn't have live:

1) Watch on Sky (or some other method) live
2) Listen on 5 live... live
3) Find out the result through some means and watch BBC highlights in the afternoon
4) Walk around all day in a media blackout zone and wait for the highlights?

I'm going to attempt no.4, but I know from past experience that curiosity will get the best of me way before 3pm. It will be a shame to miss the live timing and Twitter updates but Sky just isn't an option for me.

Thoughts?

steveaki13

6th March 2012, 21:45

Well I already have Sky Sports, as I follow Football and Cricket as well, so I will continue to watch F1 as usual.

I just hope the Sky coverage won't be so awful I can't bare it.

yodasarmpit

6th March 2012, 22:33

Will be watching all live on Sky

Zico

6th March 2012, 23:28

Will be watching all live on Sky

+1

Will be very strange not watching it on the Beeb.. fingers crossed they do a good job.

Rollo

7th March 2012, 01:50

For Australia:

Network Ten Holdings has Lachlan Murdoch on its board as Chairman.
http://www.tencorporate.com.au/lib/pdf/2012/mf547.pdf

The Ten Sport website used to have a dedicated section for Formula One which has now been removed.
News | Ten Sport (http://tensport.com.au/motorsport-news.htm)

Given that neither ONE HD or Channel 10 managed to even show a single GP live in 2012 including the Australian GP, that only the Australian GP appears on the anti-siphoning list for sport and that Newtork Ten Holdings could not confirm whether or not they would be showing any Formula One races in 2012, I seriously doubt whether F1 will be shown on free to air at all.

Personally I do not have Foxtel and although the argument can be made that I could easily get it, I really can't see the point in paying for something which I used to get for free.

DamonHillFan

7th March 2012, 05:51

watch Races and as many qualifying and practice sessions as I can live on Sky Sports F1 HD :D

EuroTroll

7th March 2012, 06:45

In Estonia, the local channel doesn't show the races live, but with a 45 minute delay. :mark: So I guess I'll have to watch RTL, which isn't great, since I don't really speak German.

I really wish I could see Sky and BBC, but alas.

driveace

7th March 2012, 07:28

Mostly BBC,my daughter has all the Sky channels,so i can watch it there,but Studiose has just prompted me that it will be on RTL,and as i can put the numbers in my set top box and get that,if he will send me the numbers to get that channel please

EuroTroll

7th March 2012, 07:59

Mark

7th March 2012, 09:01

Most likely recording Sky and watching it when I get up.

pino

7th March 2012, 10:26

Most likely recording Sky and watching it when I get up.

Sorry but what time you get up...6pm ? :p

Mark

7th March 2012, 10:45

Race starts at 6am. I'll probably be up by about 8 I think. Depends on baby.

MrJan

7th March 2012, 12:55

Will watch the BBC live coverage when it's on and proudly steal the Sky coverage for the other races. Stealing from Rupert Murdoch is a victimless crime.

driveace

8th March 2012, 10:21

Does anybody have the Co Ordinates that I need to recieve RTL,they will be something like 2200 Horizontal OR Vertical then 3/4 .Please

AndyL

8th March 2012, 11:04

Does anybody have the Co Ordinates that I need to recieve RTL,they will be something like 2200 Horizontal OR Vertical then 3/4 .Please

Is your dish pointed at 19.2° East? (Standard Sky Digital dish position is 28.2° East.) If it is, try here:
Astra 1H/1KR/1L/1M/2C at 19.2°E - LyngSat (http://www.lyngsat.com/Astra-1H-1KR-1L-1M-2C.html)

Knock-on

8th March 2012, 11:32

All races live in glorious HD :D

Mark

8th March 2012, 12:26

All races live in glorious HD :D

First we had 720p, 1080i, and now 'glorious' :s

IceWizard

8th March 2012, 12:50

I'll be going back to my parents' house each time there is a Sky exclusive race on. I've paid for their upgrade to Sky Sports. Unfortunately they are getting it through Virgin so no Sky Go option.

My landlord won't allow a satellite dish and we're not in a cable area so I'll be watching the BBC coverage for the races they show live.

Mark

8th March 2012, 13:11

I've paid for their upgrade to Sky Sports.

Why do that when you can get it seperately?

wedge

8th March 2012, 14:20

BBC

I'm not whoring myself to Murdoch, even if it was the Beeb's fault.

steveaki13

8th March 2012, 21:27

BBC

I'm not whoring myself to Murdoch, even if it was the Beeb's fault.

Surely its common sense for the beeb.

They could never outbid Sky so rather than lose all F1 coverage they chose to share, I thought it was all they could do, once Bernie sold out and went back on his F1 to never go to sky.

BDunnell

8th March 2012, 21:55

Surely its common sense for the beeb.

They could never outbid Sky so rather than lose all F1 coverage they chose to share, I thought it was all they could do, once Bernie sold out and went back on his F1 to never go to sky.

Channel 4 supposedly had a bid in for a whole season's live coverage.

Tazio

8th March 2012, 22:14

I'm crashing this UK party! :p
I watch the race in HD on Speed TV, and have a link via proxy in a small window of the race on head phones for the incredibly large portions of the broadcast that they are showing commercials for viagra and $hit. This is not a knock, but I do find the Brittish comentators talk up UK pilots and teams more than I care for (which is fine it is a UK broadcast.)
The US broadcast is very neutral. Except when Button drove for Honda BAR because David Hobbs owns a couple of Honda dealerships. ;) Hobbs is an old fart but I think the guy is priceless He's a color guy and the guy has a lot of racing expearience to draw from. He is in a distinguished dwindling fraternity of men who have won a major race at Monza in the old banked configuration, and he has that good ol' Brittish sense of humor. Varsha is ok because he can express himself articulately and keeps up with the race by not wasting words. Steve Matchet formerly of Bennaton is very good at the technical end of it.
I also always have a small window open for timing and scoring, and one more window open with the chat room that KOZ has so generously provided for us. I think I end up watching time intervals more than any other one thing :)

wedge

9th March 2012, 00:51

Channel 4 supposedly had a bid in for a whole season's live coverage.

It's easy to point fingers at Bernie's and Rupert's empire but I'm more disappointed by the Beeb colluding with Sky.

Channel 4's bid was equal to Sky's with shared coverage with the BBC. I fully understand the Beeb intention's of saving their own skin and protect their free-to-air rights but disappointing on the whole with free-to-air sports coverage.

Brundle was not happy with the deal either.

AndyRAC

9th March 2012, 09:33

BDunnell

9th March 2012, 09:42

The BBC Sport department are quite a shambles nowadays, which is sad as they were once the leaders in coverage.

It's not entirely their own fault, one has to say. Politically, at a time of cost-cutting being encouraged by a government which, at its heart, dislikes the very notion of the BBC, F1 coverage was an easy target — though this begs the question as to why they decided they wanted to retain even a part of it.

Steve Rider made some good points back in January at the Autosport show - the Beeb should bid for other Motorsport series to fill the void, but won't as all they want is F1.

I agreed with him, but, on reflection, what is there? There's little reason to show the WRC, and the BTCC is tied into an ITV deal.

Mark

9th March 2012, 11:35

It's hard to argue about the entirety of the coverage going to Sky, if they wanted it. The issue is then F1 goes underground and nobody watches it, which is very bad for the sport.

Mark

9th March 2012, 11:36

I agreed with him, but, on reflection, what is there? There's little reason to show the WRC, and the BTCC is tied into an ITV deal.

Indeed, you've basically got BTCC, which is on ITV. WRC, yeah they could do that but it doesn't lend itself to Sunday afternoon live broadcasts. MotoGP is already with the BBC.

wedge

9th March 2012, 11:56

It seems as if the Beeb couldn't have it, so they were sure as hell going to make sure another free to air broadcaster could have it. I can't understand their thinking. The BBC Sport department are quite a shambles nowadays, which is sad as they were once the leaders in coverage.
Steve Rider made some good points back in January at the Autosport show - the Beeb should bid for other Motorsport series to fill the void, but won't as all they want is F1.

It's all about F1. It's going to be some sort of magazine/highlights show. I think there should be GP2 highlights.

But to be fair the BBC have tried hard with bikes.

It's not entirely their own fault, one has to say. Politically, at a time of cost-cutting being encouraged by a government which, at its heart, dislikes the very notion of the BBC, F1 coverage was an easy target; though this begs the question as to why they decided they wanted to retain even a part of it.

Not to mention that the BBC is a public institution and sports coverage is ever more a luxury.

In a recent boxing debate on 5Live Frank Warren had pop at the BBC for its coverage of boxing knowing full well the BBC would struggle to show his big fights.

Why did the BBC retain part of F1 coverage? They wanted to keep their hold on free-to-air rights. If Channel 4 and BBC both showed it then it brings Ch4 to the negotiating table and there might come a time when Ch4 will outbid the BBC.

MrJan

9th March 2012, 12:26

I agreed with him, but, on reflection, what is there? There's little reason to show the WRC, and the BTCC is tied into an ITV deal.

Rallycross? Simple, lots of flair and used to be a Grandstand staple. Also with Liam Doran we have the British interest...plus with the DiRT games and Ken Block doing it in the US it has a good footing for being big business. All they need to do is wrestle it away from Eurosport (who I assume are the current broadcasters).

NB: Due to rallycross not being on free-to-air I actually know very little about the sport, other than it used to be awesome and the cars are crazy.

BDunnell

9th March 2012, 12:41

Rallycross? Simple, lots of flair and used to be a Grandstand staple. Also with Liam Doran we have the British interest...plus with the DiRT games and Ken Block doing it in the US it has a good footing for being big business. All they need to do is wrestle it away from Eurosport (who I assume are the current broadcasters).

NB: Due to rallycross not being on free-to-air I actually know very little about the sport, other than it used to be awesome and the cars are crazy.

It was indeed, but would it work now? And, dare I say it, how much of its popularity back then was down to the fame it undoubtedly achieved by virtue of certain Murray Walker 'gaffes'?

AndyRAC

9th March 2012, 12:54

The realist in me knows that the Beeb would never go for 'lesser' series.
However, part of the BBC's 'reason for being' is not just to show populist programmes, but niche/ minority interests. Or, rather it was.
It would be nice to think that they would cover 'lesser' series. There are FiA World Championships that would love their coverage, i;e WRC, WEC....

It's a catch 22 situation; to get coverage it needs to be relatively popular, however, to be popular, it needs decent TV coverage......

philipbain

9th March 2012, 12:57

I agreed with him, but, on reflection, what is there? There's little reason to show the WRC, and the BTCC is tied into an ITV deal.

There are series out there of the highest calibre that are crying out for mainstream coverage, one that would strike me as an obvious choice is DTM, 3 major manufacturers involved, to whom the UK is a major market, high tech cars that are very fast, big name drivers and it's calendar is purposely designed to avoid clashes with F1, would seem a no-brainer and with the commercial interests of the competing manaufacturers paramount i'm sure a deal with the BBC could be done that not only provide 10 live race weekends a year (by co-incidence the exact number of GPs lost to Sky!) but also would please the BBC Trust in terms of costs as i'm sure the rights fees would be covered by the manufacturers that want the exposure!

AndyRAC

9th March 2012, 13:01

I can't imagine the DTM on the BBC......it might have big sponsors, great looking and sounding cars, be ultra professional, almost F1-Lite, but the racing is pretty poor. Oh, and it's not British......

philipbain

9th March 2012, 13:11

...but the racing is pretty poor. Oh, and it's not British......

I wouldnt describe F1 is being especially British and also the DTM is international and has a round in Britain, just like F1! As for the racing being poor, this has afflicted F1 too and just like F1 DTM have put some pretty dramatic efforts into fixing that with the new car that has a lot less little aero ficks and parts on it which should make the cars more able to get a bit physical (previously you couldnt do this in DTM for fear of losing all your downforce!) and intensify the quality of the on track product.

BDunnell

9th March 2012, 13:36

There are series out there of the highest calibre that are crying out for mainstream coverage, one that would strike me as an obvious choice is DTM, 3 major manufacturers involved, to whom the UK is a major market, high tech cars that are very fast, big name drivers and it's calendar is purposely designed to avoid clashes with F1, would seem a no-brainer and with the commercial interests of the competing manaufacturers paramount i'm sure a deal with the BBC could be done that not only provide 10 live race weekends a year (by co-incidence the exact number of GPs lost to Sky!) but also would please the BBC Trust in terms of costs as i'm sure the rights fees would be covered by the manufacturers that want the exposure!

Hardly anyone in the UK cares about the DTM, and why should they? It is a German championship. And the racing is as dull as ditchwater. In truth, the BTCC is the only series that one could imagine the BBC going for, but where would they put the coverage?

wedge

9th March 2012, 14:34

I wouldnt describe F1 is being especially British and also the DTM is international and has a round in Britain, just like F1! As for the racing being poor, this has afflicted F1 too and just like F1 DTM have put some pretty dramatic efforts into fixing that with the new car that has a lot less little aero ficks and parts on it which should make the cars more able to get a bit physical (previously you couldnt do this in DTM for fear of losing all your downforce!) and intensify the quality of the on track product.

F1 is very British. Most of the teams are based in the UK, the savoir faire is still regarded being the UK and Brundle has often remarked that English is F1's unofficial language.

DTM is very Germany-centric. Even Susie Stoddart speaks decent German these days.

For DTM to improve it needs to get rid of the small fuel cells, get rid of fuel stops that encourages pit passing. Aussie V8s has a race formula that works and no reason DTM can't replicate something similar.

Dave B

9th March 2012, 15:39

Mainly aimed at those of us who watch the UK feed, but how are you planning on following this season of F1? Obviously Sky have everything live, but not all of us (myself included) are able to get it.
I buckled and reinstated the HD pack on my existing Sky setup. Yes I hate the Murdoch empire but the simple fact is that Sky offer fractionally better picture quality than Virgin and the monthly cost is a little cheaper. So I'll be watching as many live sessions as our newborn will allow.

I'll watch the first two on Sky, then China on the BBC, and from then on the shared races on whichever channel provides the best coverage. The only bummer is that I'll be in a Travelodge during the Malaysian weekend, so will probably be watching the BBC highlights on a 14" portable. C'est la vie.

BDunnell

9th March 2012, 16:10

F1 is very British. Most of the teams are based in the UK, the savoir faire is still regarded being the UK and Brundle has often remarked that English is F1's unofficial language.

DTM is very Germany-centric. Even Susie Stoddart speaks decent German these days.

For DTM to improve it needs to get rid of the small fuel cells, get rid of fuel stops that encourages pit passing. Aussie V8s has a race formula that works and no reason DTM can't replicate something similar.

I agree completely.

Mark

9th March 2012, 16:19

I buckled and reinstated the HD pack on my existing Sky setup. Yes I hate the Murdoch empire but the simple fact is that Sky offer fractionally better picture quality than Virgin and the monthly cost is a little cheaper. So I'll be watching as many live sessions as our newborn will allow.

I'll watch the first two on Sky, then China on the BBC, and from then on the shared races on whichever channel provides the best coverage. The only bummer is that I'll be in a Travelodge during the Malaysian weekend, so will probably be watching the BBC highlights on a 14" portable. C'est la vie.

I'm hoping to go through the season watching BBC when they are live and Sky otherwise, to get a good balance of coverage. I may end up liking the Sky coverage better, but the sheer fact they'll have ads during the build up and post race means I'll likely be wanting to watch BBC.

Mark

9th March 2012, 16:20

Just to show how the races fall with weeks off in between

- Australian GP (Sky)
- Malaysian GP (Sky)
-
-
- Chinese GP (BBC)
- Bahrain GP (Sky)
-
-
- Spanish GP (BBC)
-
- Monaco GP (BBC)
-
- Canadian GP (Sky)
-
- European GP (BBC)
-
- British GP (BBC)
-
- German GP (Sky)
- Hungarian GP (Sky)
-
-
-
-
- Belgian GP (BBC)
- Italian GP (Sky)
-
- Singapore GP (BBC)
-
- Japanese GP (Sky)
- Korean GP (BBC)
-
- Indian GP (Sky)
- Abu Dhabi GP (BBC)
-
- USA GP (Sky)
- Brazilian GP (BBC)

djparky

9th March 2012, 22:25

I'll be watching it on Sky this year- don't care about pre-race show- I will just watch the track action- along with the GP2/GP3 races. About the only thing I'll really miss is the F1 Forum

DamonHillFan

9th March 2012, 23:06

I'll be watching it on Sky this year- don't care about pre-race show- I will just watch the track action- along with the GP2/GP3 races. About the only thing I'll really miss is the F1 Forum

im guessing the F1 Show will have some similar elements to the forum, BBC may keep it for races they show live also.

I was really impressed by the preview tonight, analysis was good and interesting and Hill and Brundle made some interesting points too :)

Zico

10th March 2012, 08:02

I was really impressed by the preview tonight, analysis was good and interesting and Hill and Brundle made some interesting points too :)

+1

The early signs look positive...

Wasted Talent

10th March 2012, 18:29

Watching it on BBC trying not to find out the result in advance.

Refuse to pay for Sky for a year as most of their monies go to making rich footballers even richer. I have had to get Sky Sports when The Ashes were on but that was just for a couple of months then ended my subscription again.

Looking at the schedules the BBC have 75 mins for qualifying on Saturday and 120 mins on Sunday for the race highlights so it looks like there will still be in-depth coverage of the races they don't have live.

WT

Mark

10th March 2012, 20:45

It's amazing the amount of people who won't subscribe from some tenuous moral standpoint rather than simply saying it doesn't represent value for money.

Dave B

10th March 2012, 20:50

If there was a straight choice between two or more providers at the same cost and quality I'd choose the one with no links to Murdoch every time. But for me Sky offer the best value and the only realistic way if watching all the races in good quality, so I've made a deal with the devil for purely selfish reasons.

If I thought that withholding my 120 quid would make a dent on their 4 billion turnover then maybe I'd take a moral stand.

BDunnell

10th March 2012, 20:51

It's amazing the amount of people who won't subscribe from some tenuous moral standpoint rather than simply saying it doesn't represent value for money.

Is it? Anger at the behaviour of the Murdoch-owned companies is at an all-time high, making such a degree of objection unsurprising. However, these anti-Sky moral objections can only be defended if (a) the person expressing them buys no other Murdoch products, and (b) they do not believe in the free market. It is incredible how the issue of footballers' wages in particular turns right-wingers into raging socialists.

Dave B

10th March 2012, 20:54

Wasted Talent

10th March 2012, 21:31

I've got no particular problem with footballers' salaries, if people judge them to be worth that in a free market. Nobody is holding a gun to anybody's head and forcing them to attention matches or watch on commercial television.

fair point, but look at the position of a number of clubs that are going into administration because their expenditure (mainly on player wages) isn't covered by their income, even allowing for dubious practices of paying for their "image rights" which can be paid to a players company and only attract corporation tax at 23% (I think), rather than 50% if it was taxed as income.

Sure I could decide to go for Sky but it would be £40 a month, and paying £500 a year to watch live F1 isn't good value for me. You can be certain that only a very small proportion will go towards F1 rights and production costs, it will just go towards the financing of Sky's football coverage.

WT

Dave B

10th March 2012, 22:01

fair point, but look at the position of a number of clubs that are going into administration because their expenditure (mainly on player wages) isn't covered by their income, even allowing for dubious practices of paying for their "image rights" which can be paid to a players company and only attract corporation tax at 23% (I think), rather than 50% if it was taxed as income.

WT

No different, surely, to any other business which folds because outgoings exceeded income. Sports teams have to exist within the real world, which is why as an example Williams are to be admired - not for their recent on-track results but for consistently staying in the black during very trying times.

wedge

11th March 2012, 14:51

It's amazing the amount of people who won't subscribe from some tenuous moral standpoint rather than simply saying it doesn't represent value for money.

For me its both.

I have despised Murdoch's empire for a long time.

Value for money? What's that in this day and age of austerity?

It's not like there's no alternative other than a Faustian Pact.

And yes, my moral compass is not all perfect either. I do go weak at Nestle Kit-kats Chunky!

Mark

11th March 2012, 15:50

Value for money? What's that in this day and age of austerity?

Value for money is an individual decision. What may be for me might not be for you. 'Age of austerity' has nothing to do with it.

It's not like there's no alternative other than a Faustian Pact.

And yes, my moral compass is not all perfect either. I do go weak at Nestle Kit-kats Chunky![/QUOTE]

The thing is if you don't get Sky just because of some moral issue and you miss F1, the only one suffering is you.

wedge

11th March 2012, 16:16

The thing is if you don't get Sky just because of some moral issue and you miss F1, the only one suffering is you.

Dear oh dear, you sound like a Murdoch employee!

Suffering? The build up I'm not fussed over and for fly away GPs iPlayer has been suffice.

I'll be missing some intracies of a full GP but considering that the average GP is about 90mins and BBC highlights are 70mins (IIRC) it seems suffice.

From what I can tell Sky is giving the mid-week coverage F1 deserves in this day and age and what football has been getting for years.

I'm an aficionado, enthusiast, call it what you will. There's a whole lot more to motorsport than F1. I'd rather spend the money on track days and spectating and mingling in the paddock, perhaps its a wake up call that I should have the impetus to go out there marshalling; let alone put the money towards a holiday for instance.

BDunnell

11th March 2012, 21:12

The thing is if you don't get Sky just because of some moral issue and you miss F1, the only one suffering is you.

Does one 'suffer' if one simply wishes to be able to watch a sport but can't?

BDunnell

11th March 2012, 21:13

I sincerely hope over time the appeal of F1 goes through the floor in the UK and in years to come they reach back out to FTA broadcasters so it is once again available to everybody. Until that happens or doesn't, I think its sad the greed of the sport has forced it away from the majority of fans in the UK. I was going to watch the first race on Sky just to see how it goes but realised its Australia. I don't fancy getting up at 5am or whatever, so for the first 2 races I shall stick with the BBC highlights. This is probably the least exciting start to a season I have ever witnessed.

It won't happen. The floodgates have already been opened. Truth be told, the viewing figures for a lot of Premiership matches on Sky are pathetic, yet no-one seems to bat an eyelid.

DexDexter

11th March 2012, 21:31

jonny hurlock

12th March 2012, 00:38

I couldn't care less whether Sky is linked to Murdoch or not as that hasn't even played a part in my decision. The fact is I can't afford an extra 30 quid a month at the moment and the channel doesn't offer value for money in my case. Getting Sky for one single channel is a huge waste of money and would be a luxury for me. I love Formula One and would love to watch every single race live or in full, but the sport has moved away from fans like myself and I am not prepared to suffer financially to get something I haven't had to pay a premium for over the past 20 or so years. You guys with Sky have got it good and I'm sure you'll enjoy all this new content, but its not good news for everybody.

£31 per month, I can't afford it. sorry. So beeb for me.

I am bit surprise no one hasn't/dared to started on s.word yet IMHO

jonny hurlock

12th March 2012, 00:43

I'm surprised Sky doesn't offer Internet stream coverage, over here in Finland our F1 broadcaster Mtv3 offers a good quality F1 stream for 45e/ season. That's enough for me and I don't have to subscribe to any channels etc...

I like the idea. instead of paying sky, how about watching it on F1 web-site for a fix price will be a great idea IMO

ArrowsFA1

12th March 2012, 08:32

I like the idea. instead of paying sky, how about watching it on F1 web-site for a fix price will be a great idea IMO
I can see this happening in the none too distant future. The ways we are all watching tv/films/sport has been revolutionised in recent years and if Bernie ever discovers the internet then we'll have streaming coverage, in some shape or form, provided directly by FOM.

SGWilko

12th March 2012, 09:54

How much does the BBC pay Sky so that its cannels are broadcast over satellite. I have a sum ITRO £10m in my head.....

....from the license fee, of course!

AndyL

12th March 2012, 11:28

How much does the BBC pay Sky so that its cannels are broadcast over satellite. I have a sum ITRO £10m in my head.....

....from the license fee, of course!

That's not for broadcasting, all they pay Sky for is inclusion in the Sky EPG.

All BBC channels are FTA on satellite, so they're not paying for use of Sky's encryption system. The BBC contract with the operators of the Astra satellites directly for the actual broadcasting.

MrJan

12th March 2012, 12:46

It's amazing the amount of people who won't subscribe from some tenuous moral standpoint rather than simply saying it doesn't represent value for money.

I won't get Sky because of cost, but the fact that I'm not ploughing my hard earned into Murdoch's empire makes it sweeter. And no, my £500 a year (or whatever it is) doesn't make much difference, but any small difference, multiplied by the number of people with a similar attitude, is enough.

Mind you I've never really understood Sky anyway, it's really not good value unless you like watching live football, and even then it's a lot of money to pay out.

Robinho

12th March 2012, 12:52

I would be happy to pay a one off to watch the race, online or on the TV, I am not subscribing over and above what I have to get the channel (which is only in SD on my Virgin package). If I already had sky instead I would have the HD pack and therefore would have the channel.

As it is I will probably stick with the Beeb for now, unless the extended highlights prove disasterous, unless I can borrow a Sky Go login for a small black market sum from someone friendly who hasn't registered to the max number of devices on theirs

Big Ben

12th March 2012, 16:08

I'm going to watch every other race for 15 minutes and then fall asleep... and then read about it on autosport.com

DexDexter

12th March 2012, 19:42

I'm going to watch every other race for 15 minutes and then fall asleep... and then read about it on autosport.com

Why bother reading about it? Just follow some other form of motorsport, there are many slow spec series out there.

BDunnell

12th March 2012, 19:49

Mind you I've never really understood Sky anyway, it's really not good value unless you like watching live football, and even then it's a lot of money to pay out.

It's not much of a catchline, is it? 'The channel that people only watch because they have to if they want to see certain things that we've bought.'

Mark

13th March 2012, 10:47

We've yet to see how much racing there is in the highlights programme. I'm guessing about 45 minutes or so?

Wasted Talent

13th March 2012, 15:16

We've yet to see how much racing there is in the highlights programme. I'm guessing about 45 minutes or so?

Well in an 120 minute programme on Sunday with no adverts, even allowing for recap of new season/qualifying and after race interviews/analysis there is likely to be at least 60 mins race coverage?

WT

donKey jote

14th March 2012, 03:07

I could watch either German RTL or spanish (is it Antena3 this year?) on telly, but I'll end up watching both + UK (whichever it is this yeat) on t'internet and simultaneously chatting with y'all as usual :p

Bruce D

14th March 2012, 11:32

Just seen that we in South Africa will be getting live commentary from each race from the BBC, not Sky, which is great cos I love Ben Edwards' commentaries, but it also means that their highlights packages will be just edits of live commentary which is pretty much what I thought they would do.

Mark

14th March 2012, 12:28

Well BBC won't be doing live commentary for half of the races. I can't see them commentating on a race live and then cutting it - but you never know I suppose.

Robinho

14th March 2012, 12:34

2 hrs programme there should be easily an hour and 20 of the race (which should be enough for 90% of the race in most cases. If its well edited it should be ok, but I've always hated watching highlights as I like to understand whats happening every lap, and even seeing a gap rising suddenly from 2 to 5 seconds as they've cut a few uneventful laps out, bothers me

odykas

14th March 2012, 15:17

Shame there's no BBC coverage. :(

In Greece the race will be on pay tv.

If I manage to wake up on time, I will watch it on RTL or any other satellite channel.
If I don't, then I will donwload Sky coverage :p :

wedge

14th March 2012, 15:34

Well BBC won't be doing live commentary for half of the races. I can't see them commentating on a race live and then cutting it - but you never know I suppose.

They did it for the inaugural Masters GP though it was made easy by cutting off a few laps at about half distance.

They also do it for MOTD. Commentary is recorded live though not many people truly believe this is so and with some incidents it takes some believing!

BDunnell

14th March 2012, 15:42

They also do it for MOTD. Commentary is recorded live though not many people truly believe this is so and with some incidents it takes some believing!

Indeed, with a somewhat different technique being required — at least for football.

wedge

14th March 2012, 16:02

*Palm face*

The obvious example is/was the North American races. The 1 hour highlights on BBC/ITV would be on few hours later.

Bezza

14th March 2012, 16:58

I'll be watching the race at 6am on Sky on Sunday morning.

The one factor that leaves me happy to do is the lack of adverts during the race. No doubt we'll have loads before and after, but I can cope with that.

My plan for the season:

Sky only races - Watch LIVE on Sky, record BBC highlights - watch them too when convenient.
Sky/BBC races - Watch LIVE on BBC!

When I am not in - dilemna!

Sky+ live race on Sky, depending on mood/circuit/expectations/coverage - choose between the two :p

MrJan

14th March 2012, 17:11

Well BBC won't be doing live commentary for half of the races. I can't see them commentating on a race live and then cutting it - but you never know I suppose.

I believe that BBC will have their team at every race, it would therefore seem silly to sit and watch it live and then spend an hour or so in the editing suite doing the VO.

Dave B

14th March 2012, 17:42

The BBC will be commentating live for foreigner broadcasters, it's relatively easy to edit and yields better results than faking surprise in post production.

Mark

14th March 2012, 19:37

Marre

15th March 2012, 05:08

any link to live stream?

Bruce D

15th March 2012, 05:41

Well BBC won't be doing live commentary for half of the races. I can't see them commentating on a race live and then cutting it - but you never know I suppose.

Well we get everything live as it happens, so they have to provide the commentary live then. Look, they don't have to travel to each race they can do some from a studio in London somewhere like they used to do in the days of Walker & Hunt. The press release our tv company gave said that only the UK would get delayed commentary / coverage.

DamonHillFan

15th March 2012, 06:34

they will have live commentary on the BBC though...

on the radio :p

DexDexter

15th March 2012, 08:24

I've just read this on the BBC:

BBC Sport - Formula 1 2012: Follow the new season on the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17350644)
Only half of the race as highlights?!! Thats terrible news for me. I fail to see how they are going to deliver the tension and anticipation of unfolding events with only an hour to show it. So basically we have an hours worth of guff and boring interviews, tyre talk yawn and the rest is a few laps thrown together. I have a feeling the get together we have on Sunday will be more about a few beers than watching the race. :(

I can tell you that it's really annoying to watch a race that's edited to an hour, we've had it for years over here (live feed is on a pay channel) and it's just not watchable for any half-serious F1 fan.

AndyL

15th March 2012, 10:38

I've just read this on the BBC:

BBC Sport - Formula 1 2012: Follow the new season on the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17350644)
Only half of the race as highlights?!!

:confused: an hour will be about two thirds of the race for most, it's only Monaco and the occasional wet race that get anywhere near the 2-hour limit.

Sonic

15th March 2012, 10:56

I have to say the fact that I don't get the excitement of getting up early on Sunday morning has sucked the enjoyment out of the new season for me. If I happen to be about when the highlights are on the beeb I might watch it, but I'm not going to be interrupting my Sunday for F1 anymore. I guess that makes me a casual fan now :-/

Mia 01

15th March 2012, 11:17

Here in Sweden I will watch via Viasat Motor HD. It´s quit expensive ofcourse but what can I do. They are sending everything live.

Mark

15th March 2012, 11:49

Does anybody know what time the re-run will be on on Sky in the afternoon? I ain't watching only 60 minutes of a season opener, sorry. I shall take my laptop with me to my mates if the re-run is on at a reasonable time.

2.30pm

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk

It's possible to remove that , you know ;)

IceWizard

15th March 2012, 12:39

I've just read this on the BBC:

BBC Sport - Formula 1 2012: Follow the new season on the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17350644)
Only half of the race as highlights?!! Thats terrible news for me. I fail to see how they are going to deliver the tension and anticipation of unfolding events with only an hour to show it. So basically we have an hours worth of guff and boring interviews, tyre talk yawn and the rest is a few laps thrown together. I have a feeling the get together we have on Sunday will be more about a few beers than watching the race. :(

Given that most races last one and a half hours then surely 'highlights' that show two thirds of the race won't be too bad? Of course, the European races could be a different matter as the highlight programmes are only going to be 1 hour 30 for these.

TMorel

15th March 2012, 13:47

I used to be a massive WRC fan but then they dicked around with scheduling / channels / pay-per-yawn. Now I only watch Jari-Matti's accidents on youtube, couldn't even tell you where to find any actual TV broadcasts.
I just hope that this isn't the start of the slippery slope for F1 too, but for now the enthusiasm is still there and for anyone living in Brum, I gather the Aprés Bar will be opening early for showing the race live.

Dave B

16th March 2012, 02:11

I'm very impressed with Sky's red button coverage so far: world feed, 2 onboards and live timing. Fantastic on a big screen.

ArrowsFA1

16th March 2012, 10:19

Woke up at 1am and decided to stay in bed & watch FP1 on the iPad. Must say the updated SkySports app was excellent. Can't say the same for my ability to stay awake :p

Watched the latter stages of FP2 on tv and again was very impressed with Sky and their red button coverage. Multi-screen, tweet feed, highlights. Not sure if you could ask for anymore. Well...HD, but that's my fault for not getting it sorted in time.

Will watch re-runs later by so far so good from Sky. Ok, the ads are a bit of a pain having got used to life without them on the BBC, and the reminders about how you can get F1 on tv, laptop, iPad etc gets a bit repetitive, but still minor complaints in the grand scheme of things.

Zico

16th March 2012, 11:07

Watched the latter stages of FP2 on tv and again was very impressed with Sky and their red button coverage. Multi-screen, tweet feed, highlights. Not sure if you could ask for anymore. Well...HD, but that's my fault for not getting it sorted in time.

Will watch re-runs later by so far so good from Sky. Ok, the ads are a bit of a pain having got used to life without them on the BBC, and the reminders about how you can get F1 on tv, laptop, iPad etc gets a bit repetitive, but still minor complaints in the grand scheme of things.

Me too, never thought I'd see myself just watching a practice session but they made it interesting and enjoyable... I'm really looking forwards to this weekend, six world champions on the grid, potentially a much closer field than in previous years and maybe with a few surprises on the cards, Force India and Mercedes are looking surprisingly good.

All very good coverage so far SKY..

AndyL

16th March 2012, 11:20

Me too, never thought I'd see myself just watching a practice session but they made it interesting and enjoyable...

Personally I didn't think the practice session much better than what the BBC used to do... it was even the same commentary team :) Sky have cameras in the pit lane for practice which gives them a bit more to show when there are no cars on track, but they also have adverts. Swings and roundabouts.

When Ant was talking about how Buemi and Alguesuari had failed to achieve their hopes of taking Vettel's or Webber's seat, I thought they missed a golden opportunity to comment about Alguesuari taking Ant Davidson's seat instead :)

The Black Knight

16th March 2012, 14:34

ArrowsFA1

16th March 2012, 15:16

Couldn't be bothered reading through the thread and don't know if anyone has posted it yet but anyone with an iPad whom doesn't have Sky Sports F1 HD might want to check out the app for the iPad:

Sky Sports for iPad 2.0 launches with live TV streaming, F1 Race Control companion -- Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/16/sky-sports-for-ipad-2-0-launches-with-live-tv-streaming-f1-race/)

Was using it as an alternative to getting out of bed at 1am this morning and was very impressed. The only thing, as I discovered during FP2 when I was slightly more awake was that the app coverage lags approx 20sec behind the tv coverage.

djparky

16th March 2012, 15:31

watched it earlier- thought it was fine- not too different from the red button coverage last year except that it was in HD and I can Sky Plus it.

The Black Knight

16th March 2012, 15:36

Was using it as an alternative to getting out of bed at 1am this morning and was very impressed. The only thing, as I discovered during FP2 when I was slightly more awake was that the app coverage lags approx 20sec behind the tv coverage.

Not much that can be done about that with Streaming unfortunately. It's never going to be as fast as the live coverage... at least, not for a long time to come.

Andrewmcm

16th March 2012, 16:47

Impressed with Sky so far. The Sky Sports app for iPad and its F1 section are very cool indeed.

ArrowsFA1

17th March 2012, 05:45

As I'm on Sky Go I can't get the red button features but its never been of interest for me anyway so not missing out there.
If you've got access to Sky Go can you not use the Sky Sports app?

Mark

17th March 2012, 06:27

It's only for iPad when Sky Go is for many platforms including iPhone.

Dave B

17th March 2012, 06:38

The Beeb are going to have to up their game. Sky's picture quality is stunning, Dolby Digital is amazing, and the interactive options are something else.

Thompson and Lazenby are the weak links but they're not on screen much so easy to ignore.

Mark

17th March 2012, 06:47

16:9 graphics too?

Dave B

17th March 2012, 07:18

Indeed. A superb effort thus far for their first weekend.

Tumbo

17th March 2012, 07:56

anyone else find Croft irritating or is the fact that he goes absolutely mental for anyone of British background a huge turn-on for those here?

Need to find a way to keep all sound just turn off the commentary

Dave B

17th March 2012, 07:59

Red button has audio options.

Tumbo

17th March 2012, 08:08

sadly the australian feed on OneHD has no red button option - and if it did we would just get our own idiotic commentators

Mark

17th March 2012, 11:30

It shows whatever is on the channel you select at the time.

Dave B

17th March 2012, 12:59

Right then: let's see how the Beeb covered it. Highlights on BBC2 / BBC HD.

wedge

17th March 2012, 14:18

So nobody here tried FP with James Allen & co?

Ben Edwards - it's like he's never left F1.

Malbec

17th March 2012, 15:07

Quite impressed by Sky so far, they seem to be making a big effort.

What I don't find so impressive is the official F1 live timing app on the android. Its great for providing sector by sector times for all the sessions and last season it was free. Now its £30 for the season 2012 app. I suspect the iPhone equivalent costs similar. Shocking.

steveaki13

17th March 2012, 18:17

I was impressed by the Sky coverage on the whole.

Shame they have to have ads when we pay for sky anyway, but we all knew that.

I think its clear the luring away of BBC staff has allowed Sky to sound confident and smooth. If they had all been new to F1 it may have been a disaster. This line up though makes sure the coverage is top notch.

Big Ben

17th March 2012, 21:24

Why bother reading about it? Just follow some other form of motorsport, there are many slow spec series out there.

I still have some hopes for F1

Brown, Jon Brow

17th March 2012, 21:42

I watched Q1 &Q2 on Sky and it was as proffesional and slick as you'd expect from their sporting pedigree. I listened to Q3 on the way to work on BBC 5 Live and I feel that the commentary team was a big step back from Crofty and Ant.

I also watched the BBC highlights and while Ben Edwards seems totally comfortable in the lead commentary role, the whole production seemed a bit rushed.

Dave B

18th March 2012, 08:30

BDunnell

18th March 2012, 11:13

I only caught the post-race chat on 5 Live between Algersuari and, I assume, Jennie Gow. If you want someone whose analysis consists mainly of the phrase 'fantastic job', Algersuari's your man. What he was like during the race itself, though, I have no idea.

Brown, Jon Brow

18th March 2012, 15:38

BDunnell

18th March 2012, 15:40

So, what do we think of the BBC highlights coverage? I missed the first few minutes, but there appeared to be no graphic showing the grid, which I couldn't believe. After that, I felt it settled down nicely. Usual highly competent job by Ben Edwards. There were a few brief moments when he and Coulthard talked over each other, but such is only to be expected first time out.

wedge

18th March 2012, 16:05

There were a few brief moments when he and Coulthard talked over each other, but such is only to be expected first time out.

Excellent.

I didn't think it was bad of them talking and butting into each other as it happens from time to time. It was like they were commentating together for years.

Certainly it wasn't like Legard & Brundle who could never hit it off.

Dave B

18th March 2012, 16:24

I'll be watching the Beeb highlights later to avoid Z-listers On Ice.

BDunnell

18th March 2012, 16:27

Excellent.

I didn't think it was bad of them talking and butting into each other as it happens from time to time. It was like they were commentating together for years.

Certainly it wasn't like Legard & Brundle who could never hit it off.

Quite so.

Stuartf12007

18th March 2012, 16:31

The BBC coverage was better than SKY's imo.

Sky have rubbish presenters.

James Allen i will avoid, as his voice does my head in, its like listening to Kermit the frog doing commentry...Awful!

Brown, Jon Brow

18th March 2012, 16:34

I'll be watching the Beeb highlights later to avoid Z-listers On Ice.

You know you're not forced to watch television. Why don't you read a book, or lean how to play the clarinet?

christophulus

18th March 2012, 17:50

I was impressed with the BBC coverage, the highlights were pretty comprehensive. I did miss a bit of the pre race build up but I think they managed to squeeze all the important info in there.

I imagine they aren't allowed to just show a full race re-run anyway, as part of the licensing deal.

Mark

18th March 2012, 17:51

The BBC's 2 hour highlights show was broken up as:

Intro - 10 minutes
Race - 70 minutes
Analysis - 30 minutes

Do we really need so much analysis? Why not have a whole race re-run and extended analysis via the F1 forum?

It's probably in the contract that they can only have a certain percentage of the race. It's not about the length of the timeslot.

Brown, Jon Brow

18th March 2012, 18:52

As long as Sky doesn't resort to this style of presenting.....

JzU8DpM1oFA

BDunnell

18th March 2012, 18:59

My word.

Robinho

18th March 2012, 20:46

The BBC stuff was ok, I'd seen qually so the straight in approach I quite liked, the race edit was pretty good, although I'd obviously rather have seen more racing laps, and I did think the quantity of analysis was disproportianate to the racing, although I expect that was to do with the sky deal. Ben Edwards did a decent job, and I'll happily watch the BBC live races, but I think if I can see the other races live I will, but the highlights are a decent substitute

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk

acescribe

18th March 2012, 21:42

I've got to say that overall Sky's coverage was excellent. You certainly can't fault their commitment, with a dedicated channel they had as much airtime as they needed and the length of the pre- and post-race shows reflects that.

They had some teething troubles, some of their interactive stuff didn't work in the early stages of FP1, but that's a function of the huge technical challenge of broadcasting half a dozen feeds from the other side of the world.

The weak links are Simon Lazenby, the presenter who is demonstrating just what a phenomenal job Jake does on the BBC; and the pointless waste of (not very much) space that is Georgie Thompson, who nods along like she's understanding Ant's analysis.

I agree with Jon that the BBC coverage seemed a bit lacklustre in comparison but it's not a fair test as highlights can't really compare to the excitement and atmosphere of a live broadcast. I'll watch the Chinese GP on the Beeb with interest but the benchmark has been raised again, as it was when they themselves took over from ITV.

I liked Sky's coverage, the race coverage with Brundle, Croft and Kravitz was a seamless shift from the old BBC. Nathalie Pinkham seemed to miss out on getting interviews with Schumacher and Grosjean though, there was even a live shot of the Beeb's Lee McKensie interviewing grabbing the latter. Oops. I simply was not around over the weekend when the BBC's was on, and I wasn't going to record it for the sake of watching both to compare, though we all already knew that Ben Edwards is a class act.

However, have to agree with Simon Lazenby, he had a look of "oh ****" on his face over the weekend - but Jake Humphrey is an extremely good presenter and few are at his level (remember Jim Rosenthal's efforts?!) Damon Hill is not doing Malaysia so it will be interesting to see who they have instead. Also have to agree with the diminutive Georgie Thompson - seems she is flown across the globe then to co-present the Friday show wielding an i-pad with Ted Kravitz and then just stand next to Ant Davidson for the rest of the weekend. Couldnt she just link to Ant and the rest from a London studio? And as for the dorks from Sky Sports News - why on earth did they need to be flown halfway across the world?

I did see a funny tweet over the weekend saying that Sky Sport F1 had just asked for 10 minutes for a certain someone, only to be told that said certain someone had just given 10 minutes to Sky Sports News. Hmmm...talk about right hands and left hands!

MAX_THRUST

18th March 2012, 21:48

I could only wqtch the BBC.

I thought I'd miss Brundle, but didn't. Knew I would like Ben Edwards he did a fantastic job as always, makes the racing seem more exciting than it is.
I'm amazed I ,issed Ted Kravits. I never liked him alwatys thought he was an arogant twat, but last year I grea to like him ore and missed him this weekend.

Gutted I couldn't watch the race live but was happy enough with the beeb.

yodasarmpit

18th March 2012, 23:10

Sky did well, by not tinkering too much with a proven format. They didn't stray from what the beeb have been doing for the past few years.
Getting Brundle and Ted on board at least ensured a level of continuity.

wedge

19th March 2012, 01:02

The BBC's 2 hour highlights show was broken up as:

Intro - 10 minutes
Race - 70 minutes
Analysis - 30 minutes

They're only allowed 70mins highlights.

I'm amazed I ,issed Ted Kravits. I never liked him alwatys thought he was an arogant twat, but last year I grea to like him ore and missed him this weekend.

When he started off in ITV, yes, but he grew into a fine reporter.

Gary Anderson is good but I get the sense the BBC are unsure what to do with him - should he be in the booth on reporting from the pits.

AndyL

19th March 2012, 10:30

I guess the deal with Georgie Thompson is that Ant Davidson has a rider in his contract that they have to stand someone next to him to make him look tall ;)

Knock-on

19th March 2012, 11:21

Bruce D

19th March 2012, 11:32

I really enjoyed having Ben on our screens this weekend, the commentary seemed more lively than it was before. DC responded too, so it was good fun. I think Gary's role will improve as they go on, but yes he did seem a little redundant at times. What I did like was when they would interupt him for more interesting stuff happening on the track, like when Vettel went farming at turn 1. In the past we'd have Ted continue blabbing on about strategies and have Martin and co have to catch up. Talk over the top of him and let us hear the action. The commentary seemed more natural as henners88 said and I loved how excited they got about people getting crossed up, etc.

MrJan

19th March 2012, 12:29

Why didn't Sky snap up EJ? I could have been more accepting of them if they had, he's like the motorsport version of Brian Moore.

Happy with the BBC coverage, although missed not have some pre-race features (although without Brundle they may not be quite as good, presumably Anderson will take on that role). Edwards seemed immediately at ease and had a good partnership with DC from the off. All in all a quality broadcast, but then I'm used to watching the rerun of Melbourne anyway because I'm too lazy to get up early.

Mark

19th March 2012, 13:11

It has to be remembered of course that Ben Edwards is hardly a newbie, he was an F1 commentator on Eurosport back in the 1990's, then did IndyCar / CART on the same channel for many years and British Touring Cars recently, for an F1 commentator he has to be the top of anyones list and it shows! I do like his enthusiasm, he puts it across quite well, much like Murray Walker did, but unlike the annoying way James Allen did.

Dave B

19th March 2012, 13:16

I guess the deal with Georgie Thompson is that Ant Davidson has a rider in his contract that they have to stand someone next to him to make him look tall ;)

I have a theory that the reason they're in a separate room is so that people don't realise the Sky pad is in fact an iPad stuck to the wall - Georgie and Ant just make it look like a giant TV. :p

tommy2k8

19th March 2012, 13:42

When the BBC took over F1 in 2009, the first show was ropey, so we will have to wait and see what is in store for the Malaysian GP Sky coverage

wedge

19th March 2012, 13:54

20th March 2012, 10:00

It seems Channel4 put in a serious bid to snatch the F1 coverage: Graphical House - Design Consultants, Glasgow (http://www.graphicalhouse.co.uk/#/projects/channel-4)

supraf1

20th March 2012, 21:57

watched live(Ish) as had to record race as was going out for the day so watched quali live and recorded race on RTL analogue (Spent previous weekend putting my 20 yr old dish back up and waving it around till tuned in!) with James allen from R5 (Through sky box). watched race back as if live, and it was like being in 1995 again (Something about analogue that just makes it More "live" (If you know what I mean)). Shame James Allen dosen't know his left from his right still and the delay from germany over sky made JA like a prophet at times. Couldn't believe the amount of action he missed as I watched on RTL. So I watched entire race and race then today watched the BBC coverage.

Verdict - Qualifying worked fine as RTLs ads etc all work for the 3 stage format.
- Race not so clever as RTLs ads (Race carries on in small window) never synched with R5 news etc.
- BBC - Covered everything esp. last lap kerfuffles.

Worth watching live for the "Buzz", but for quality viewing it has to be the Beeb still. Well done Ben Edwards. You also reminded me of the mid 90s. Just waiting for those amazing 'pioneer' ads on eurosport they used to run.

wedge

21st March 2012, 00:02

Indycar will be on Sky F1 HD.

St Pete will be time delay.

If there was decent NASCAR coverage - not the 1hr highlights then I'd seriously consider making a Faustian Pact.

Andrewmcm

21st March 2012, 00:06

According to my Sky Guide the Indycar St Pete race is live on Sky Sports F1 HD.

Mark

21st March 2012, 08:53

Oh really? This is good! I might watch IndyCar for the first time in over 10 years (actually it was CART then ;) )

AndyL

21st March 2012, 12:04

Oh really? This is good! I might watch IndyCar for the first time in over 10 years (actually it was CART then ;) )

I completely lost track of US single seaters through the schisms and reunifications. Just had a look at the driver list - it's a veritable feast of F1 rejects isn't it :) I might give it a try.

acescribe

21st March 2012, 13:59

2012 Indy Car Series opening round on Sky Sports F1 HD | touchline.tv (http://www.touchline.tv/motorsport/2012-indy-car-series-opening-round-on-sky-sports-f1-hd)

wedge

21st March 2012, 14:40

Just had a look at the driver list - it's a veritable feast of F1 rejects isn't it :) I might give it a try.

I think the politically correct term is leftovers! F1 Rejects - I tend to think of the offensive F1 drivers!

Apart from testing Ryan Briscoe didn't have a race seat.

Justin Wilson was average F1 driver. Probably would've been a journeyman if he had the money.

The likes of TK, HCN, Franchitti never had the opportunity though Dario and Wheldon had offers when they were making a good living, being the best they can be with a strong Indycar career and the dilemma of starting all over again by driving a midfielder.

DamonHillFan

21st March 2012, 19:13

season review 93 tonight and 94 tomorrow on SSF1HD :)

plus live GP2 and F1 in HD this weekend :D and SD IndyCar as well is live!

yodasarmpit

21st March 2012, 21:11

Got to admit, for top drawer single seater coverage Sky has it covered - literally.

Mark

22nd March 2012, 09:28

Apparently it's only the first race of the IndyCar season. The rest are on Sky Sports 4 :(

Malbec

24th March 2012, 19:14

Has anyone else noticed how damn large the video files are on SKY, just one race programme takes up nearly a fifth of the hard disk, somewhere around 40-50GB.

Is there any way of offloading this onto a laptop or another hard disk? Otherwise I'll have to erase each race as I go.

Mark

24th March 2012, 20:06

You don't have a 1tb box then?

chac47

24th March 2012, 20:31

We get Sky Sports in New Zealand which is a package of Sky Sports 1,2,3, Espn and Mosaic . Last year the commentators for quali and races were Brundle and Coulthard. This year the commentators are Coulthard and ? ( seems to be an audio glitch for the first minute or two of each broadcast when the commentators would normally introduce themselves and I don't recognize the second voice). Jamie Alguersuari has been co-commentating for the practice sessions. We are getting all of the races not just the 10 that I have read BBC are broadcasting. The BBC and Sky thing has me confused.

steveaki13

24th March 2012, 21:33

Ben Edwards is the BBC lead commentator this year alongside Coulthard

Malbec

24th March 2012, 21:51

You don't have a 1tb box then?

I got whatever the default was for the HD bundle. Is the 1TB box an upgrade or does it come as standard?

steveaki13

25th March 2012, 07:47

Time for a power nap Henners

AndyL

25th March 2012, 09:22

steveaki13

25th March 2012, 09:38

Race directors one day will get F1 racing. ;)

Mark

25th March 2012, 11:00

I slept in until an hour after the start of the race but I didn't miss much!

BDunnell

25th March 2012, 11:40

Listening to it on 5 Live. James Allen is OK — devoid of the overdone excitement he used to show on ITV, almost to the extent that he seems devoid of excitement at moments that demand it — but Jaime Algersuari just isn't cut out for the co-commentator's job, in my view. Time and again Allen addresses a comment to him and he makes no reply. I feel sorry for a main commentator in those circumstances. Nor is Algersuari's voice a good one for radio, the medium in which it's most important. At times he is barely audible, not that his contributions are exactly a 'must-listen'.

BDunnell

25th March 2012, 16:11

Watching the BBC TV highlights only serves to underline what I wrote above. Coulthard as a co-commentator on the TV is excellent — he can broadcast, pure and simple. Algersuari, I'm afraid, can't.

wedge

25th March 2012, 16:28

BDunnell

25th March 2012, 16:34

Agreed.

Apart from the start, James Allen seems to be on tranquilisers.

Ha! I'd probably sound like that if paired with a co-commentator like Algersuari. I can't understand how anyone could have come to the conclusion that he could broadcast.

Mark

25th March 2012, 18:22

Was Croft co commentator on Sky today? I thought he did a very poor job.

I'm looking forward to proper BBC coverage of China.

steveaki13

25th March 2012, 19:19

Was Croft co commentator on Sky today? I thought he did a very poor job.

I'm looking forward to proper BBC coverage of China.

He was.

MrJan

25th March 2012, 20:09

Radio and TV commentary are two very different things. James Allen was god awful on the telly but seems to provide good information on the radio, he's very descriptive which is irritating on the TV. Crofty is similar (from the few laps I heard of him on Sky before my feed dropped and I resorted to a Russian feed with 5Live on), hasn't made the switch to TV very well. Him and Ant were great doing the practice stuff, but you can get away with just chatting during that.

BDunnell

25th March 2012, 21:45

Radio and TV commentary are two very different things. James Allen was god awful on the telly but seems to provide good information on the radio, he's very descriptive which is irritating on the TV.

They are very different, but I would prefer Allen to go a bit further towards his TV style, because as it stands he isn't getting energised enough when things happen worth getting energised about. I must say I always felt sorry for him when he was with ITV, because as Murray Walker's successor he was always on a hiding to nothing, he's clearly a knowledgeable, articulate guy, and some of the criticism was extraordinarily vitrolic, which couldn't have been nice. Now I feel sorry for him because he's saddled with a co-commentator who simply isn't up to the job and leaves him to do much more of the work than, say, David Croft (of whom I was never a fan on the radio) ever had to do with Davidson.

Dave B

25th March 2012, 22:05

I got whatever the default was for the HD bundle. Is the 1TB box an upgrade or does it come as standard?
A fortune from Sky as an upgrade but you can get a drive for about £40 and fit it yourself.

wedge

26th March 2012, 01:16

They are very different, but I would prefer Allen to go a bit further towards his TV style, because as it stands he isn't getting energised enough when things happen worth getting energised about. I must say I always felt sorry for him when he was with ITV, because as Murray Walker's successor he was always on a hiding to nothing, he's clearly a knowledgeable, articulate guy, and some of the criticism was extraordinarily vitrolic, which couldn't have been nice.

He's responding to the critics which would explain the tranquilizers.

I've only heard parts of the Australian GP and I found it numb. He needs to bring back the enthusiasm and not come across as biased.

Agree with you on Jaime.

aryan

26th March 2012, 01:34

The thing about James Allen is that I think in recent years, his blog and other writing activities have redeemed him in the eyes of the public. His blog is the only F1-related website I read frequently. I never knew of his depth of knowledge during his ITV years.

As for the TV coverage, we get the Sky commentary down here in Australia. Brundle is as good as always, but I'm staying neutral and not passing judgement on Croft yet. We give rookie drivers at least half a season to adjust and settle in, why not commentators?

I have to say though, I really miss the Coulthard-Brundle team. That commentary team might go down in history books as one of the best, period.

yodasarmpit

26th March 2012, 03:09

Was Croft co commentator on Sky today? I thought he did a very poor job.

I'm looking forward to proper BBC coverage of China.
To be honest, I'm observing little difference between the BBC coverage and that of Sky.

Which I'm very happy with :)

Mind you lets not forget that Sky are able to provide a 1.5 hour pre race show, and similar post race.

Mark

26th March 2012, 09:41

To be honest, I'm observing little difference between the BBC coverage and that of Sky.

Which I'm very happy with :)

Mind you lets not forget that Sky are able to provide a 1.5 hour pre race show, and similar post race.

That's true, Sky have modelled themselves on the BBC coverage, which is no bad thing. But it also shows up a disparity between the two in that Sky are more serious about it than BBC. I think the fact that the BBC coverage comes across as more relaxed actually underlines how good the BBC are at it.

BDunnell

26th March 2012, 10:47

He's responding to the critics which would explain the tranquilizers.

I've only heard parts of the Australian GP and I found it numb. He needs to bring back the enthusiasm and not come across as biased.

Agree with you on Jaime.

I detected no bias whatsoever in his commentary yesterday. In fact, I detected almost no nothing in his commentary yesterday!

BDunnell

26th March 2012, 10:48

I have to say though, I really miss the Coulthard-Brundle team. That commentary team might go down in history books as one of the best, period.

It was excellent, but Ben Edwards and Coulthard are really excellent on the BBC now, too.

aryan

26th March 2012, 11:13

It was excellent, but Ben Edwards and Coulthard are really excellent on the BBC now, too.

Good to know. I will download one of the races that the Beeb broadcasts live, to see their commentary team and their show. I've heard about Ben Edwards a lot but have never actually listened to him myself, so it will be interesting.

I'm still holding out hope for David Croft though. He was good on radio and he might still better on tv.

AndyL

26th March 2012, 11:19

I have to say though, I really miss the Coulthard-Brundle team. That commentary team might go down in history books as one of the best, period.

Yes I think so too.

Re the Sky post-race show... I think this is one area where the BBC are still beating Sky, and probably will even more so for their live races with the F1 forum. Jake and DC's interviews with drivers and team members are really good, longer and more informal than the standard post-race media interviews.

MrJan

26th March 2012, 12:19

Never thought I'd say it but I miss Ted Kravitz, Anderson really isn't hitting it out the park at the minute (although he's obviously a bit green to it at the minute). Impressed by how well Edwards and DC have got on, Brundle and Coulthard go way back as friends/colleagues so I expected them to knit, but didn't think it would be so natural with Ben coming in. And as for that twat Lazenby....miles behind the presenting style of Jake Humphrey from what I saw.

acescribe

26th March 2012, 15:46

Ha! I'd probably sound like that if paired with a co-commentator like Algersuari. I can't understand how anyone could have come to the conclusion that he could broadcast.

Yes.... I had to listen to the race as I was travelling in the car and I actually felt sorry for James Allen - several times he threw a leading question at Algersuari's direction and was met with silence, which is the worst thing possible on radio

I think poor Jaime is daydreaming out of the window, wishing he was out there racing, which lets face it, he should be.

acescribe

26th March 2012, 15:53

I'm still holding out hope for David Croft though. He was good on radio and he might still better on tv.

He'll get there. Did think he and Ted Kravitz having an anoraks tiff over whether it was Sauber's best result (as apposed to BMW Sauber) was pretty funny. Between Croft and Ben Edwards, there are two of the best in the business so F1 is being very well served.

SGWilko

26th March 2012, 16:06

does it come as standard?

We are talking about Sky TV here!

BDunnell

26th March 2012, 16:09

Never thought I'd say it but I miss Ted Kravitz, Anderson really isn't hitting it out the park at the minute (although he's obviously a bit green to it at the minute).

Quite what his role is in the highlights races I don't yet understand. I think we heard from him once during the race in yesterday's edit. But he certainly talks fluently.

BDunnell

26th March 2012, 16:10

Yes.... I had to listen to the race as I was travelling in the car and I actually felt sorry for James Allen - several times he threw a leading question at Algersuari's direction and was met with silence, which is the worst thing possible on radio

Including saying 'Jaime' during the question! It doesn't get much clearer than that, even to a non-native speaker of English. Allen deserves better.

Could you actually hear any of Algersuari's comments in your car, by the way?

acescribe

26th March 2012, 20:13

Including saying 'Jaime' during the question! It doesn't get much clearer than that, even to a non-native speaker of English. Allen deserves better.

Could you actually hear any of Algersuari's comments in your car, by the way?

Not clearly no. If he is to see the year out in the job - and for his sake I hope he ends up back behind the wheel sooner rather than later rather than stay behind the mic - I'd say the BBC or whoever ought to invest in some media and broadcasting training for him.

Dave B

26th March 2012, 20:29

I've seen the first two races on Sky and only have a BBC highlights package for comparison, so for the sake of fairness I intend to watch the Chinese GP live on the BBC (while recording Sky) and see how they fare with a live broadcast. Highlights never seem to capture the sense of occasion no matter how good a job a broadcaster does, so it'll be interesting to see if Sky's excellent coverage forces the Beeb to up their game or whether they'll just go through the motions until their contract is up (also known as "doing a Massa").

aryan

27th March 2012, 01:19

He'll get there. Did think he and Ted Kravitz having an anoraks tiff over whether it was Sauber's best result (as apposed to BMW Sauber) was pretty funny.

Yeah that was funny. I could see both sides' points of view, but I thought they both lingered on it far longer than was necessary.

Between Croft and Ben Edwards, there are two of the best in the business so F1 is being very well served.

Very true. For races that fall late at night in Australia, I generally do not bother staying up and instead download the show the day after to watch. In years gone by, I had the choice between Speed or the British broadcaster, which was an easy choice and ITV/BBC won it every time. This year, at least for the races that both broadcast live, I can choose either. Right now, I have no idea which one I will choose!

As for Jamie, I don't know whose idea it was to offer him the role. Was Ant Davidson not available anymore? I am not a native English speaker, but I have spoken English since I was 8, and have lived in English-speaking countries for many years now, so I'm what can best be described as a "near native" speaker. 95% of my daily speech and nearly 100% of my writing is in English and as part my work, I give many talks and presentations in English. Yet, I would never ever want to commentate on any live sport in English. Our brains are wired to treat our mother tongue different to all other languages that we learn later in life, and no matter how good you are with a learned language, you will never be able to express yourself as freely and liberally as in your mother language. Commentating on live TV is one of those areas that I think is best reserved for native speakers.

acescribe

27th March 2012, 07:40

. Was Ant Davidson not available anymore?

He is now analysist on Sky.

MAX_THRUST

27th March 2012, 17:51

Have to Say Ben Edwards is doing a great Job on the beeb. I'm so glad that is the only way I can watch F1 s I'm not missing Brundle. I hope Sky don't nick Ben for Sky next year as he and Brundle would be perfect together. DC is doing a good job with Ben but Gary Anderson just irritates me, mind you so did Ted C for a while.

P3ws

27th March 2012, 21:58

Viasat. In HD.
Pretty neat with five channels during the race.
Like having all the screens the teams have in the pits.
It sometimes feels like to much information at the same time.

BDunnell

27th March 2012, 23:35

As for Jamie, I don't know whose idea it was to offer him the role. Was Ant Davidson not available anymore? I am not a native English speaker, but I have spoken English since I was 8, and have lived in English-speaking countries for many years now, so I'm what can best be described as a "near native" speaker. 95% of my daily speech and nearly 100% of my writing is in English and as part my work, I give many talks and presentations in English. Yet, I would never ever want to commentate on any live sport in English. Our brains are wired to treat our mother tongue different to all other languages that we learn later in life, and no matter how good you are with a learned language, you will never be able to express yourself as freely and liberally as in your mother language. Commentating on live TV is one of those areas that I think is best reserved for native speakers.

I think it depends on the individual. For example, I could see Bruno Senna making a good fist of such a job in the future — his command of English and the way he talks give that indication.

Malbec

28th March 2012, 00:30

I think it depends on the individual. For example, I could see Bruno Senna making a good fist of such a job in the future — his command of English and the way he talks give that indication.

Karun Chandhok too.

AndyL

28th March 2012, 12:39

Karun Chandhok too.

Indeed, Karun did it several times last year and was excellent. His knowledge of F1 is encyclopedic.

wedge

28th March 2012, 13:07

Nick Heidfeld for me. He was entertaining at a FP for one GP. Completely changed my perception of him being a boring German.

5th April 2012, 10:34

A person should have zeal to do something. If really anxious and getting breathless why don't people go out in the racing area? They will experience more than HD quality picture. Just joking. The best idea is Sky sports and the other option is news update.

Bruce D

5th April 2012, 12:14

I remember when Button had his accident on Monaco in 2003 ITV got him in the commentary box and he did a damn fine job, so he could be a future option.

BTW Motorsport Magazine podcast this month is with Ben Edwards. Just went up on the website today so go download it.

wedge

13th April 2012, 01:41

Should be interesting. I wonder if BBC & Sky end up stepping on each others toes, who's first to get live and intimate interview with the winning team prinicipal? :D

Mark

13th April 2012, 08:41

Should be interesting. I wonder if BBC & Sky end up stepping on each others toes, who's first to get live and intimate interview with the winning team prinicipal? :D

I wouldn't be surprised if they've come to an informal agreement on who gets what when.

acescribe

15th April 2012, 10:59

I wouldn't be surprised if they've come to an informal agreement on who gets what when.

On seeing Ted Kravitz blitz Gary Anderson to get Ross Brawn (in an interview that was lost to interference anyway) it does not look like that is the case!

Liked Martin Brundle meeting DC on the grid too and brushing past EJ.

donKey jote

15th April 2012, 11:03

Sky >> Antena3 >>>>>> RTL

Still watching interesting commentaries on Sky about half an hour after both Spanish and German coverage is over, plus no breaks :)
RTL sound like they're commenting a funeral procession even when Vettel, Schumi or (today) Rosberg are doing great :s

BDunnell

15th April 2012, 11:20

Karun Chandhok too.

Absolutely. A highly articulate man, seemingly very pleasant, and hugely well-versed in the sport's history.

Dave B

15th April 2012, 11:40

steveaki13

15th April 2012, 14:27

I think Sky are doing a good job, I don't get much time to watch too much pre-post race stuff this season, so can't judge that, but I enjoy Croft and Brundle with Ted in the pits doing his usual good job.

Johnny Herbert was OK (where was Damon Hill? I didn't hear where he was)

Dave B

15th April 2012, 15:31

Johnny Herbert was OK (where was Damon Hill? I didn't hear where he was)
I can only assume that Damon was in Bahrain with JYS being wined and dined so that they'd toe the party line :p

yodasarmpit

15th April 2012, 16:37

Well just watched both and have to say there was very little in it, with maybe Sky just coming out in front.

ArrowsFA1

15th April 2012, 17:31

I watched the buildup on the Beeb but switched to Sky for the race, using the BBC on a 2nd screen for onboards. Much as I admire Ben Edwards, I prefer Croft and Brundle's commentary and the Sky picture/sound quality is superior. I switched back to the Beeb for post-race analysis and forum, and recorded Sky's analysis for later.
I did the same. The Beeb's post race forum has always been a big + in their coverage for me. It's something we hadn't seen before and they do it very well, but Sky are doing a very good job IMHO. To be fair there's not much in it comparing the two, but with the BBC only covering half the races in full I suspect I'll become more familiar with Sky as time goes on and less likely to feel the need to switch back.

MAX_THRUST

15th April 2012, 19:53

I'm only watching the Beeb. GReat race today, the Beeb did a good job as ever. Ben Edwards and DC are starting to gel well, Ben is excelent.

Best of all the Beeb is free...FREE!!!!, how much is sky? The Sky coverage should be 100% better than the beeb if your paying for it, at the end of the day the race pictures are the same on both channels, we're talking about analysis chit chat etc that your paying for. At least with sky you get all races live, I'll stick with the beeb for now. Unless Natalie Pinkman is gonna come round and sit on my lap whilst the race is on I aint paying for Sky.

BDunnell

15th April 2012, 20:06

I'm only watching the Beeb. GReat race today, the Beeb did a good job as ever. Ben Edwards and DC are starting to gel well, Ben is excelent.

Shame he's left ITV's BTCC coverage with the decidedly infuriating Toby Moody!

Mark

15th April 2012, 20:10

Alfa Fan

15th April 2012, 20:15

I didn't understand why they didn't take Simon Hill. He's substituted for Tim and Ben in the past and done just fine.

Stuartf12007

15th April 2012, 20:20

I didn't understand why they didn't take Simon Hill. He's substituted for Tim and Ben in the past and done just fine.

BBC coverage for me. Sky will soon starting adding adverts to the live race....just watch.

Mark

15th April 2012, 20:28

Mark

15th April 2012, 20:29

Gary Anderson might be a good F1 designer but he's not a good pit lane reporter.

DazzlaF1

15th April 2012, 21:10

I don't know about that. Sky has the advantage ITV never had in that they have a source of funding outside that of advertising so they can afford to use F1 as a means of attracting new subscribers rather than the coverage having to make a profit in it's own right.

From Sky's point of view I don't think they would even want the BBC to lose coverage completely as they would want interest in F1 to remain high. Quite likely what they would prefer is for them to have exclusive live rights with BBC highlights only. But they are playing a long game.

I disagree, like Live football, Sky have always craved absolute exclusivity and only competition laws have prevented them from having what they want, hence why in football, they have to share the Champions League with ITV and gave up the FA cup rights to ITV and Setanta/ESPN, they share Tennis with British Eurosport, share Premiership rugby and the NFL with ESPN and dont have the rights for the summer football tournaments like the World Cup and the European championships. If those rules did not exist, then Sky would have the freedom to use their huge financial muscle to outbid anyone and everyone for any event they choose.

Im not knocking Sky's F1 coverage though, on the whole it is very decent although in comparison their more formal/serious looking coverage in my opinion is not as good as the Beeb's more "fun" approach, I mean you wont see Georgie Thompson or Martin Brundle being chucked into the Red Bull pool in Monaco EJ style for example

But basically, if they had an opportunity to muscle the Beeb out of the F1 picture completely, you'd be sure they'd try

wedge

16th April 2012, 00:18

Just watching the repeat of the BBC post race 'forum'. Outstanding as always very informal and you get to see behind the scenes of the teams packing up etc. Sky is lacking here, it's all a bit too formal.

In a recent issue of F1 Racing Brundle admitted he wasn't too keen on the informal stuff.

But basically, if they had an opportunity to muscle the Beeb out of the F1 picture completely, you'd be sure they'd try

I seriously doubt it. The Beeb holds FTA rights which is their trump card. They would rather make a deal with Sky than a rival FTA channel.

AndyL

16th April 2012, 00:42

Shame he's left ITV's BTCC coverage with the decidedly infuriating Toby Moody!

And to think I said they should have got him to do F1 instead of Legard :) I didn't know he was doing BTCC... does he know anything about it? He's certainly an F1 fan and he mentions it from time to time in MotoP commentary, but I don't know about touring cars.

Mark

16th April 2012, 09:10

In a recent issue of F1 Racing Brundle admitted he wasn't too keen on the informal stuff.

You could tell on the occasions they brought him into the forum, each to their strengths I guess :)

The forum is a massive strength of the BBC in my opinion, and tbh I hope Sky doesn't try to copy it as the BBC does it so well.

yodasarmpit

16th April 2012, 10:09

I guess an F1 am show could work, Soccer am has always been a good laugh.

Dave B

16th April 2012, 11:44

I guess an F1 am show could work, Soccer am has always been a good laugh.
From what I've seen of Soccer AM it's aimed at readers of lads-mags like Loaded and Nuts, and who snigger at the thought of seeing a pair of tits.

wedge

16th April 2012, 11:53

You could tell on the occasions they brought him into the forum, each to their strengths I guess :)

The forum is a massive strength of the BBC in my opinion, and tbh I hope Sky doesn't try to copy it as the BBC does it so well.

Oh I agree. The sport takes itself too seriously at times, driven by geeks, corporations and not to mention the politics that brings instant apathy. F1 needs it share of light relief. Although sorely missed, it takes more than Brundle's dry wit.

Dave B

16th April 2012, 12:13

For the Chinese GP, BBC viewing figures were down but total viewing figures up once you take Sky into account - pretty much what Ecclestone predicted.

BBC1's first live Formula One race of the season after it lost half the rights to Sky (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/29/bbc-sky-share-f1-broadcast-rights?INTCMP=SRCH) climaxed with more than 4 million viewers – a million down on the same race last year.

Live Formula One: Chinese Grand Prix had an average of 2.85 million viewers between 7am and 10.15am on Sunday, a 39.4% share of the audience. The race had a five-minute peak of 4.21 million.

This compares with an average of 3.27 million viewers (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/apr/18/lewis-hamilton-formula-one-tv-ratings?INTCMP=SRCH) for last year's race, a 43.7% share, and a peak of 5.14 million.

Sky's live coverage on its Formula 1 channel averaged 480,000 viewers between 6.30am and 11am, with a peak of 887,000.
It meant the total audience for the race, across the BBC and Sky, was up on last year.

Source: BBC1's Chinese Grand Prix coverage picks up more than 4m | TV ratings (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/apr/16/chinese-grand-prix-4m)

AndyL

16th April 2012, 12:52

I guess an F1 am show could work, Soccer am has always been a good laugh.

A TV version of Gareth Jones On Speed maybe?

wedge

16th April 2012, 13:01

And to think I said they should have got him to do F1 instead of Legard :) I didn't know he was doing BTCC... does he know anything about it? He's certainly an F1 fan and he mentions it from time to time in MotoP commentary, but I don't know about touring cars.

He's commentated on Silverstone Classic and knows his stuff.

Unfortunately he doesn't come across as being professional in BTCC and made quite a few errors and an over reliance on his notes. Ben Edwards has commentated on various forms of motorsport, David Croft not only commentated on F1 but FIA GTs as well as darts and boxing and have been consummate professionals.

Mark

17th April 2012, 09:09

The figures overall may be up slightly but I still can't get my head around the fact Bernie is prepared to allow the majority audience to have the reduced coverage. It just goes to show Bernie is not bothered about people being interested in the racing but purely tuning in and just seeing enough to notice sponsor boards at the side of the track. Having watched both channels covering the sport I would say both are doing what we expect but the BBC is still superior at delivering the action to the viewers. I would be pretty annoyed had I shelled out a lot of money for sky purely for f1 alone. Sky will no doubt improve but its all becoming abit of a chore for me to tune in and the Chinese gp was enough to convince me to stick with the beeb. :)

Indeed, China has convinced me too that Sky have a long way to go. One problem is that they are trying to be a clone of the BBC, even down to "Jake 2.0" holding an iPad. If you just try and copy you are never going to beat the original.

wedge

17th April 2012, 12:01

but I still can't get my head around the fact Bernie is prepared to allow the majority audience to have the reduced coverage. It just goes to show Bernie is not bothered about people being interested in the racing but purely tuning in and just seeing enough to notice sponsor boards at the side of the track.

Why is it always Bernie's fault?

But Ecclestone revealed: “They [The BBC] had a contract in force already, from 2012 all the way through to 2014.

“They got to grips with Sky themselves. I spoke with ITV too, and came up with the same problem as Channel 4 had. We had a contract with the BBC which didn’t run out until 2014.

“We couldn’t very well do a deal with other people for them to start doing *something next year, because we had that contract.

“Other broadcasters wouldn’t want to wait until 2014 to decide what they wanted to pay.”

The F1 supremo believes the BBC – led by Director of Sport Barbara Slater – were looking to make savings in the region of £25million a year.

They wanted to renegotiate their broadcasting rights into a shared deal with another network, but simply didn’t want to share the sport with a terrestrial rival.

Asked whether the BBC “held all the cards” over the new deal, he added: “Yes, absolutely. If they [Channel 4] had said they wanted to sign a contract today to start broadcasting for £45m a year, then we would have probably done it.

“But that’s the problem. We couldn’t deal with them, even if they had wanted to.”

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone: My hands were tied over BBC/Sky deal - Mirror Online (http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/formula-one-supremo-bernie-ecclestone-148411)

MrJan

17th April 2012, 12:08

Why is it always Bernie's fault?

Because he completely runs the sport, don't be fooled by his patter, he's very good at giving long speeches about how nothing was his fault but he's got far more control than that.

wedge

18th April 2012, 00:10

Because he completely runs the sport, don't be fooled by his patter, he's very good at giving long speeches about how nothing was his fault but he's got far more control than that.

Bernie is all to easy the hate figure and the BBC is all to easy the innocent after being told by the government to cut costs.

Of course Bernie's reaction to the deal is a PR stunt to make himself look less evil. He usually speaks cryptically when he knows he holds the trump card but with the BBC/Sky deal Bernie doesn't because he gains little from the deal.

It's the BBC who holds the trump card with their FTA rights.

AndyL

18th April 2012, 11:59

The people I mainly blame are the ones who decided it would be a good idea for the BBC to spunk a billion quid of licence-payers' money on relocating half their operation to Manchester. That wasn't the BBC by the way.

It's true that the BBC got to decide where to make the budget cuts to pay for it, and while we might not like what they chose to cut, they do have other viewers to consider too. Many of those viewers prefer Eastenders and The Antiques Roadshow to F1. Why, I can't imagine, but there it is.

ArrowsFA1

18th April 2012, 12:22

Seeing how low the viewing figures for sky were at the weekend, I just can't understand how it is good for the sport in the UK.
I thought combined BBC & Sky viewing figures had seen an increase in the number of people watching compared with last year... :dozey:

wedge

18th April 2012, 14:08

I didn't blame Bernie for the deal itself or for insinuating it was his idea, I questioned why he supported it and allowed it to happen. He is powerful enough to have a say and stop or approve where the BBC chose to deal. Seeing how low the viewing figures for sky were at the weekend, I just can't understand how it is good for the sport in the UK. I just hope this trend continues because I think it is rather embarrassing on the whole.

BBC are contracted up to 2014. The power lays with the BBC, not Bernie. BBC wants to make immediate cut in costs but also darnedest want to keep F1 on their portfolio - given the criticism FTA sports coverage and the cost of negotiating rights.

And of course Bernie supports it, he wants a resolution to the TV rights. He'll support any deal and spin it to make the sport look good. If it's BBC and another terrestrial network then its great for the general public, if its BBC & Sky then it great for giving greater coverage of F1.

DazzlaF1

18th April 2012, 23:19

Indeed, China has convinced me too that Sky have a long way to go. One problem is that they are trying to be a clone of the BBC, even down to "Jake 2.0" holding an iPad. If you just try and copy you are never going to beat the original.

Aye I've noticed that too, apart from the on-track studio and the lack of post race forum, it does seem they are trying to cut and paste the BBC's template, thats not a bad thing on the whole but you do want to see a bit of originality on each channel's part

There is one thing I have noticed (its sort of stupid in one way but common) in all 3 races, watch the driver interviews in the pen on the BBC's coverage, i dont know if its a pre-arranged spot in the line or broadcasters get to pick and choose whey they want to be situated but Natalie Pinkham (the Sky Sports pit interviewer) always seems to manage to get herself into the background for every pen interview Lee McKenzie does (you can see it clearly in the China forum) it might sound daft but maybe trying to give her channel a bit of a plug on its main rival perhaps?

Dave B

21st April 2012, 13:33

Is Martin Brundle alright? I don't think he's mentioned that he drove the Ferrari once all day. He normally brings the subject up at least twice per session :p

wedge

21st April 2012, 15:00

Now comes the real test of whether BBC's highlights package will work out.

80mins of race day of coverage for Bahrain, as opposed to 2 hrs for the flyaways.

I wonder if we'll still get the full 70mins of highlights?

Tazio

22nd April 2012, 22:33

Apologies in advance for posting something off topic, the thread about cancelling Bahrain was closed before I had a chance to post this so I'll use this thread as my platform. I want to tip my hat to those that did not watch the race for philosophical and humanitarian reasons. You have my admiration.
Cheers :beer:

wedge

23rd April 2012, 00:22

We don't really know what the figures would be like if the BBC covered it along with channel 4 or 5 and I can't see how it would be massively different.

When I said it was great for the general public its great for Free to Air sports coverage.

Ch4 proposed to alternate coverage between BBC.

wedge

23rd April 2012, 00:25

Anyone happy with the 50mins coverage? I wasn't. Chop off post-race stuff for more race action unless this is part of the deal for continental/Euro-friendly races.

wedge

24th April 2012, 13:15

Thats fair enough, free to air coverage is good for everybody as even those with satelite subscriptions have access to it, hence delivering the sport to a wider audience. I was aware of the Channel 4 offer but for reasons which will never be made clear, the BBC were not interested.

BBC want to keep F1 on their portfolio, they want to keep FTA as their trump card.

Ch4 bid is roughly the same amount as Sky so Bernie gains very little.

If Ch4 & BBC showed F1 then it gives Ch4 some leverage in the negotiating table in the next round of negotiations. If you were on the BBC would you want this? Of course not, so what's the next best thing? You go off and make a deal with Sky.

BDunnell

24th April 2012, 13:29

BBC want to keep F1 on their portfolio, they want to keep FTA as their trump card.

And no ads, of course.

Dave B

13th May 2012, 16:08

I had both broadcasts on today, relying mainly on Sky for commentary, and they seem to have upped their game. The Beeb were continuing their trend of desperately trying to shoehorn the Olympics into everything during the buildup, whereas Sky cut back on the pointless VTs and provided a solid 90 minutes of interviews and relevant features - with the notable exception of Georgie sightseeing in Barcelona.

During the race the Beeb's red button coverage of the onboards totally missed the first few laps, then had an unnecessarily large PiP window blocking the view and some very odd placement of the lap counter and results ticker.

christophulus

13th May 2012, 16:12

I think the BBC's coverage is at least on par with their coverage from last year, which is good to see. I haven't watched any Sky coverage this year so I'm happy the BBC aren't cutting back yet.

Mark

13th May 2012, 17:36

Sky went off air while covering the pit lane fire. Why? For some documentary they'd shown 500 times already.

I thought the idea of a dedicated channel was that you didn't have to go off air due to some other broadcast.

Dave B

13th May 2012, 17:44

In fairness that was about half an hour longer than the BBC lasted, and there wasn't really much to do other than the pointless speculation their sister news channel has become infamous for.

darwin553

15th May 2012, 10:36

As I said in another forum, this deal that Bernie has made with Sky to cover all the races live while BBC only gets half of them live with the rest of them to be covered with highlights packages tells me that the next step, unfortunately for the ones that staunchly defend BBC, is that, in future coverage rights' deals, that Sky will take all the races live to the point that not only will BBC not get any rights to cover any races live but will not be given any rights to show any highlights packages.

When I was working in London last year at a pub, I always enjoyed working on Sunday and simultaneously being able to watch F1 on BBC (given that our pub didn't have Sky) and now I just realise just how much it would suck for not only me if I was still there but also the thousands and millions of F1 supporters over there that don't want to shell out the 30 pounds per month...

aryan

16th May 2012, 06:05

I was a bit concerned about the number of times Brundle and Croftie cut each other off. Especially Croftie cutting off Brundle as he was in the middle of a sentence. Anyone else pick up on that?

16th May 2012, 11:52

Hey, anyone wanting to understand F1 in layman's terms, I found this page Understanding Formula One racing (http://www.squidoo.com/understanding-formula-one-racing)
It's not complete yet, but looks pretty good so far.
Check it out!

christophulus

16th May 2012, 19:02

As I said in another forum, this deal that Bernie has made with Sky to cover all the races live while BBC only gets half of them live with the rest of them to be covered with highlights packages tells me that the next step, unfortunately for the ones that staunchly defend BBC, is that, in future coverage rights' deals, that Sky will take all the races live to the point that not only will BBC not get any rights to cover any races live but will not be given any rights to show any highlights packages.

I'm playing the long game - I'm hoping by 2019 I'll have enough spare cash for a Sky subscription!

Besides, the way the world is going I imagine the races will be streamed online in the not too distant future through the F1 website (pay per view of course)

djparky

16th May 2012, 19:43

am watching F1 and the support races on Sky- think they're doing a fine job with it. For me it's all about the racing I don't tend to bother with pre and post race stuff- although I did on Sunday- because Williams won the race.

Also I don't have to hope that practice replay is on red button (can simply Sky plus it) when I get home from work and of course I know the every race is live. Suspect that Bernie is more interested in money than TV ratings- if the teams get a bigger slice of TV revenue from Sky than BBC I doubt they will care whether it's FTA or not- look how wealthy Premier League football has become as a result of Sky money