Excellent confirmation. Hopefully it'll continue to the end if their current contract in 2018. I can't see Sky getting an extension either.
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Excellent confirmation. Hopefully it'll continue to the end if their current contract in 2018. I can't see Sky getting an extension either.
Why not? Who else would take it?Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
Sorry, but eventually, I think Sky will get it all
A channel that can guarantee a healthy audience. Perhaps CVC need to consider dropping the price they demand to broadcasters and think long term rather than going for the quick buck? Sky's viewership is dreadful regardless of how decent their coverage is.
Are broadcasters really going to be interested in bidding for the rights if they know very few people are going to watch it? Sky admitted back in April that they thought demand would have been higher. I can't see Sky pushing as much resources into things if it continues for another season as it's an awful lot of outlay for 600k viewers. The fact their audience has shrunk 21% since 2012 is very telling I think. Bernie would be mad to give them exclusive rights.
Alas the days of F1 being covered live on terrestrial TV in the UK are gone, probably forever. Perhaps Sky will lose faith too, as they could end up with the same syndrome that ITV suffered in that the same German is winning all the time. I think Sky's channel would be more marketable if it was a pan-motorsport channel (ie a bit like Motors TV) rather than just F1. F1 could get the main slots over the race weekends but the rest of the time there is a whole world of stuff out there that could be covered. What many do not realise perhaps is that there are A LOT of petrol heads who actually have little or no time for F1.
But beyond 2018, well, look where Moto GP has gone for next year and beyond. With their amount of money, which has even put the frighteners up BSkyB, they will be a main player in sports TV coverage from here on in. Sadly, 'Old Auntie' cannot possibly compete.
True, I'm sad to say - even my mate who follows F1 religiously couldn't be bothered to watch the last two races. And I do agree, weekdays and between November and March on SSF1 is all repeats of old stuff.
And, sadly, because of the way F1 is going, lots of petrol heads are getting into other types of motorsport, as they want action (BTCC for one)
I see F1 on a slippery slope at the moment. The fact the action on track at the moment is duller than dish water doesn't help, but you'd expect the promoters to at least be a little worried by how far it's popularity has declined in just 2 years based on its greedy distribution of TV rights. How F1 can deliberately reduce it's viewing audience is beyond me quite frankly. It's clear having F1in it's sports portfolio has not increased the amount of subscriptions so it begs the question whether Sky will continue to give it a dedicated channel when they could just show the races on say Sky Sports 3 or something like that. They saw the size of the audience in 2011 and expected F1 fans to be so distraught about losing the coverage, they would just sign up and pay through the nose. Thankfully this hasn't happened and it's just further exposed what a terrible idea this was in the first place. The only positive for me is that the BBC managed to get rid of some of the weaker members of it's presenting team, naming no names.Quote:
Originally Posted by acescribe
I'm on the fence at the moment as to whether BT Sport challenging Sky is a bad idea? I do think it will introduce a price war between broadcasters and Sky will have no option but to charge what they are worth rather than what they wish based on their current monopoly. We could see Sports subscriptions come down in price name few years time but who knows? Other than having exclusive rights to some sports, I can't really see the justification of current prices? If they want my business they better make a competitive case or I will continue to watch illegal streams or consider buying a chipped box in the new year. I don't feel at all guilty about doing that.
Mmm, here's you hoping that Sky don't get an extension, which I think they will get, like it or not Sky Sports F1 has become the natural home for F1, the BBC's coverage has fallen behind Sky now they are up to pace, even when races are live on both I always watch Sky now which was definitely not the case in 2012. As for BT, they are going for football with big bucks (overpaying for Champions League football for example) because they are confident that they can garner a decent audience from it, I don't know if F1 is truly on their radar. Sky have reported that the F1 coverage has been excellent for retention of HD customers (of which I am one) that don't actually purchase Sports, as existing HD customers get the F1 channel even if they don't subscribe to Sports. Retaining customers is the key to profitability, as getting new customers is comparatively costly compared to retention.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
I admit I do hope Sky don't get the extension and next time it will likely come down to money again so yes they probably will get the rights once again. Its not a case of 'like it or not' with regards to the 'natural home of F1' though. That is a purely subjective opinion for both of us. The popularity of both channels tells a different story. In 2013 Sky's viewing audience fell considerably in comparison to the previous début year whereas the BBC's grew . That suggests to me that the BBC are still the primary source for many fans viewing F1 in the UK. These figures can be seen at both the F1 Broadcasting Blog and at Barb. You should read some facts rather than puff pieces put out by BSKYB.Quote:
Originally Posted by philipbain
May I ask where the figures are to support your claim Sky's audience grew? The F1 Broadcasting Blog is well respected and is an impartial comparison to the viewer-ship of F1. 'Like it or not' less people are watching the sport as a result of this deal and although you are able to sit on the high ground safe in the knowledge you can afford a subscription, its having a slowly devastating long term effect on how the sport will be received in future.Quote:
The season, when taking into account Sky’s longer running time for each race programme, averaged 4.11m across the nineteen races on BBC One and Sky Sports F1. This is an increase of 130k (or 3.3%) on the 3.98m average recorded for 2012, but is again down on the figures recorded between 2009 and 2011 when Formula 1 was exclusively live on the BBC. Despite an overall increase, viewing figures dropped a million viewers from the first half to the second half of the season. The first half of the season averaged 4.58m (2012: 4.06m), whilst the second half of the season averaged 3.59m (2012: 3.89m), a 27.6% drop compared with a 4.4% drop in 2012.
BBC’s Formula 1 coverage was the reason for the increase, averaging 3.42m viewers throughout 2013 for their race-day coverage, compared with 3.22m in 2012, an increase of 6.2%. The main source of the increase was the high German Grand Prix highlights rating, which averaged 5.15m and benefited from following the Wimbledon final. Removing this would still keep 2013 above 2012 for the BBC.
Unlike BBC, Sky Sports F1?s coverage dropped throughout. When putting it on a level playing field with the BBC, the main part of their race-day programming averaged 685k, down on the 767k recorded in 2012, a decrease of 12.0%. There is no particular race that struggled, but rather an overall declining picture for the channel compared with 2012. 770k (2012: 855k) watched the first half of the season with Sky, this number dropping to 590k (2012: 659k) for the latter half of the season. In both 2012 and 2013, Sky’s coverage has dropped across the season: a decrease of 30.5% compared with a 29.7% drop in 2012.
Sky will never have the outreach to maintain F1's popularity in the UK, even if it doesn't presently attract the same amount of viewers other sports do. Sky are too expensive for most people and there is the issue. I'm considering getting a SkyBox F5 fitted this year to watch all Sky channels for free :D
I didn't even mention viewing figures, they are not my concern to be quite honest, I couldn't give a damn if I was the only person watching, that's for Sky to worry about, not me! All I was saying that in my opinion the quality of coverage that Sky offers trounces the BBC whose coverage has lost it's edge, combine that with the fact that the bitrate and resulting picture and sound quality of BBC One HD is a joke and Sky Sports F1 HD's coverage looks better and is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround it's clear to me which i'd rather watch!Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
Sounds totally legit.....Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
A note of caution: Sky are getting very good at shutting down these servers, and of course it's not "free" you're trusting your money (anything from £50 - £100) to an anonymous person with no incentive to refund you if (or more likely when) things go pear shaped.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
Well its great you have justification for paying for it if you are bothered about the sound quality. For me that is less of a need, just so long as I can watch the race. I'm not bothered about the build up on Sky because its not a patch on the BBC's effort IMHO, so tuning in for the race is more of a need for me. Another reason why a subscription would be a waste of money. If I'm not bothering with the extras Sky offer, then the price of the package combined with what I would watch is extremely expensive and I simply can't justify that.Quote:
Originally Posted by philipbain
Its far from legit. I could couldn't give a monkeys whether it is legit or not so long as I get to see what I want and at a reasonable cost. This system costs less than a hundred quid to install and runs in HD. It means I would get all the sports channels, movies, and entertainment channels, not that I am particularly bothered about all that as I have FreeSat anyway which I will continue to use as my primary viewing source. I would likely only use this additional box to watch GP's.Quote:
Originally Posted by philipbain
I've heard those warnings before but yet to know anybody who has been affected by having their box closed down. I know the guy who sells them and a close family member of mine has had one for nearly a year now with no issues at all. Even if I had it for a few months and it suddenly shut down, it would still be cheaper than a genuine subscription for the same period of time. I'm sure my mate would help me out if that ever happened in any case. These boxes are surprising popular in my area as the cost of having Sky is expensive during these tougher times for most people. Sure we can say if you can't afford it don't have it, but when there is a cheaper alternative to paying a greedy company, I'm all in favour of it anyway :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave B
I don't condone using this method to anybody and would never promote it or give details in public. Just sharing my personal opinion and a potential option I have in future. We are all committed F1 fans and we shouldn't begrudge others from finding a way of watching the great sport. There are plenty of F1 fans watching live internet streams after all which are just as illegal.
As someone whose goal in life this year is to become a "cord cutter" by December (either going to basic HD cable and internet streaming or just internet streaming and a digital antennae on my house), it wouldn't hurt my feelings if someone mentioned what some of these sources might be. :bandit: Being a total law & order sort of fellow, I would never use them for entertainment purposes. No! But I may do a bit of investigative journalism in the future and I could use these streams to work on my journalism project. Yeah, that's it! I promise to get no pleasure from any lap or pass that I happen to see. The check is in the mail, I'll love you in the morning and you can't get pregnant the first time. :lips:Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
Jokes aside, I'm willing to pay to watch F1. I have no issue with that. But since DirecTV ($100+/month for what???!!!) and the American broadcast mafia won't allow us to have a la carte programming, I really am willing to do what I need to do to get what I want. IMO, even as an American, I should be able to pay the BBC, Sky, Netflix, Amazon or iTunes (or NBCSports - without having to pay for the other crap channels on DirecTV or cable) to get my F1 programming over the internet. Bernie's deal with NBCSports is not my problem. I didn't sign off on it.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nf9BKwh7zi...mc/s400/mo.jpg
Word is Gary Anderson will not be part of the BBC coverage team this year.
A rumour that has been unconfirmed for several days now.Quote:
Originally Posted by acescribe
It'll be a shame if true, but we'll have to wait and see.
If they have removed him it's a very poor decision. He wasn't a natural in front of the camera (or behind the mic) by any means, but his technical insight was one of the most interesting parts of last season in my opinion. I hope they have someone in mind to replace him.
The only person I'd get rid of, sadly, is Suzi Perry. I gave it a year but I just don't think she's a good fit for the coverage.
Having said that, my opinion won't count for much as I really can't get excited about next year, so I don't imagine I'll be watching many of the races live!
If its true they are letting GA go, that is crazy.
He is so knowledgeable. It makes you wonder who they are going to be getting in. Someone equally knowledgeable or someone attractive/entertaining
He's a knowledgeable guy, make no mistake, but he wasn't a very good pit lane presenter and wasn't good in front of the camera. These things do matter.
I know, but although I don't watch much BBC stuff. I would still rather a knowledgeable GA than a trendy whoever that knows little about F1.
I listen on Radio to Fridays quite often and I enjoy his work.
Hear Hear, as Murray would say.Quote:
Originally Posted by steveaki13
I'm a Radio 5 listener, Well that's a shame if the BBC really want to go in the Natalie Pinkham direction.
They seem too focused on what Sky are doing, like ripping off Sky's admittedly very good opening credits when their own were just fine, and distinguished them.
I didn't get the impression they had ripped off Sky's opening credits. The historical animations mixed with historical clips are hardly a product owned by either channel. Unless it was another aspect I am not aware of.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjbetty
I wonder if Sky will get rid of that awful theme tune this year? I used to like ITV's use of 'Lift me up' by Moby, however the Chain takes some beating as it is something a lot of fans associate with F1. I like a tune that puts you in the mood for racing and Sky fall short on that choice. Its a minor detail, but Sky seem to pride themselves on minor details and charging the earth. :)
If they are letting him go because of cost cutting, two things:Quote:
Originally Posted by steveaki13
1) They won't replace him
2) This may be the start of the end for BBC F1 (early)
I very much doubt the BBC will drop the coverage before the end of their contract. Its still one of their highest attracting sports, although they have very little left. If the BBC decide not to continue showing F1 post 2018, then lets hope another FTA channel picks up their half of the contract. If they don't, then F1 is officially dead in the UK as Sky F1 are struggling massively to attract viewers. Its all good having a fancy dedicated channel packed with features and air time, but if its priced beyond most fans reach, its as good as useless for the future. Sky will end up doing to F1 what they have done to cricket if we are not careful.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommy2k8
The BBC are propping up F1 appeal at the moment and are providing the primary F1 coverage in the UK. It all depends how important the British market is to the sport and its sponsors. Its probably not so important these days, however that is not so great for the dedicated fans amongst us.
As much as I'd love F1 to stay on the BBC (no ads), I would much rather see the entire season on another FTA channel than under half of it!
The problem with that would be they would have to put ads during the race as no other FTA channel relies on license funding like the BBC. I'd much rather the current deal continue as we get half the season in full and the other half as highlights, but lets face it, the racing has been so boring of late some of the highlights have felt like they've gone on too long lol!Quote:
Originally Posted by tommy2k8
When we look at the time F1 was on ITV, it was effectively like the BBC highlights now. I say this because there were at least 5 ad breaks per race and a good percentage was missed. When it went back on the Beeb we suddenly realised what it was like to watch a race in full again.
If the BBC decided not to continue though, it would be much better all round if a FTA channel picked it up with ads than have Sky have full exclusive rights. Having ads is better than not having F1 at all!