BBC and Sky to share F1 coverage

[Rich Ghia]

Fine by me. David Buik, a financial market analyst, was on talksport this mroning saying what a great deal it was and how Vodafone would be over the moon as it opens doors in different territories. This is completely detached from reality. He's making out that Sky will open doors in other countries but these countries already have F1. Free to air. It's not like the Premier League, F1 has been broadcasting to Asia for years already. I don't see how Vodafone could be happy at the prospect of losing potentially 5 million pairs of eyes in Britain.

[F One]

*is too disappointed and angry to post anything massively coherent right now* F1's the only sport I follow and there's no way I can afford Sky Sports. Thanks a bunch BBC go ahead and %£*+ our license fee on pointless digital radio stations that noone listens to and pointless digital tv channels that noone watches whilst trying your best to offload a sport that gets tens of millions of viewers.
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Si hoc adfixum in obicle legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis propinquus ades.

[Editor]

[BigG80]

[jvizoso]

I see we're back to sarcastic moderators ,Big Burger fan .. I would have thought that the late lamented Tigger would have shown you that this style just doesn't work here .. Thus the home to tumbleweed this forum has turned into.

Take a happy pill will you .

[White Turf]

Like most posters I'm disapointed by this news. I'm also old enough to remember the bad old days when we got half hour highlights whenever the BBC decided they could fit them in, with no practice or qualifying coverage whatsoever, so I suppose I might be able to get used to that again, but frankly I doubt it. I suspect that my interest will fade away as paying for Sky Sports is not an option unless I get a large income boost from somewhere, and in the current climate in this country that is about as likley to happen as Timo Glock is to win this years WDC. After 40 years of interest in this sport it will be hard to let go, but let go I will have to. I have no intention of watching half the races as there will be no continuity and that is for me very unsatisfying.

I thought about the possibility of upgrading my broadband and using "certain sites" to get streaming of the races, but on enquiring my current low speed (but advertised as high speed ) broadband is the fastest available in my rural area. I have tried streaming for other race series, but the quality is poor and there are constant freezes and picture and sound breakup, making viewing all but impossible.

I will continue viewing this year, but sadly it is likley to be my last.

[xynaria]

Seriously bad move methinks. I hate Sky with a vengeance and the way they cherry pick popular programmes, often broken by the terrestrial channels, and then charge an arm and a leg for people to watch them whilst all the time receiving advertising revenue as well. I do wonder how much they are offering for the F1 coffers and whether that will really offset the decline in viewing figures which will probably be more than substantial.
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it'll all end in tears..........cool!

[chugger]

Bloody BBC. So we don't even get the 5 years expected, or even 4, but 3..!

I knew it was too good to be true. The best coverage for years, and it gets bought by Sky, to be filled with ads.

Really what is the point in screening half the races? other than to try and tempt us into SkySports. It might as well be no races. What a copout, pointless deal by the BBC, that they try and spin into good value.

I certainly cannot afford Sky, and have never wanted it. It being owned by Murdoch et al.

Ah well, might as well enjoy this season. At least it's been a good one. To be honest, whilst I do love F1, the bike racing has been good to watch this year...even though that has been relegated to the red button on occasion, which for the MotoGP, doesn't work on Freeview...only Sky and Virgin. Hmm.

Anyway, for this year at least...go Lewis!

[vins0n]

That's right. I signed up just to comment.

http://www.pitpass.com/44220-Channel-5-on-pole-position-to-pick-up-F1-from-BBC

I'm absolutley gutted. I appreciate that some people think they are more worthy because they <insert whatever makes them feel important here> more than others but a lot of people like myself go out of their way to watch F1 (for more than 20 years and have been to races) and keep up with it on Pitpass and other sites every day. Then we get treated with contempt. Well to be honest enough is enough. When I was at Silverstone in 2003 Mike Gasgoyne said that it wasn't race goers that were important it was TV viewers that made the money and that was why they were agrressively going for the far east emerging markets. Now they want to put a squeeze on us free to air TV viewers as well. I won't be getting sky and paying a sky subscription, a sky sports subscription on top of that and then a pay per view to top that off. If you don't think that will happen then consider that the BBC just broke it's contract two years early and "things change".

I understand that Bernie and F1 don't care about me and some of you "super fans" don't either and that's fine. F1 doesn't care about you, whatever your level of support it just wants your money. Like I said enough is enough.

..oh and highlights? So we get to see lap 1,5,37,43 and 66. All the time trying to understand WTF is going on? No thanks.

[chugger]

We can only comment from an individual point of view.
I certainly do not believe in what Sky has brought to the marketplace.

Football has been priced out of many peoples reach.

From a British point of view, we have a right to be miffed. We have been given excellent coverage for the last few years, after many years of watered and dumbed down ITV coverage, and now it is being largely pulled even before the contract ends.

We pay about £12 a month for the BBC, so we have a right to an opinion on this matter, especially when they seem obsessed with keeping very niche digital channels at the expense of this, a popular sport, that gives very many armchair fans a great deal of pleasure in their lives.

Typical BBC, in its own world. And Sky, determined to rule the world, by any means.

[Podge 90]

Well, there goes watching F1 with my dad because he doesn't have bloody Sky! Dammit Sky you're breaking up families!!!

I think the most important point here, that has already been raised, is that the casual viewers (those that people in suits obsessed by figures and behind desks seem so fascinated by) are not going to pay to watch something they have a passing interest in, and that is going to have a big impact on audience numbers.

There was a slight part of me that felt somewhat proud that the BBC had the rights to F1, but I have been disappointed with their apparent desperation to flog it, and were seemingly only bound by the free-to-air clause.

I hear that Sky are not planning to show adverts during the race, which they damn right better stick to. Brundle still better be on the coverage somewhere!!

Unless Sky have some stonkingly attractive female presenter to lure me away from Lee McKenzie(.....) I'll watch the BBC coverage when they are both on, but you have to ask the BBC what's the point in only having half? And as chugger said, to then pass it off as good value and a positive thing for them (and us) is laughable.

[Podge 90]

[Rich Ghia]

[SkidMarks]

As a long-time fan (first race attended Aintree, 1961) I remember when F1 coverage was a news item if you were lucky. For most races it was wait until Thursday for Autosport, then it became wait until Wednesday for Motoring News. Then the coverage got better and I could see on t.v. the many races that I couldn't attend.

I won't be getting Sky.

At least I can follow the races that Mr Murdoch has stolen from me on Radio 5 or the Internet - until those feeds are stopped because they are deemed to be detracting from the profits. I am not against paying for coverage and am more than happy to pay for my t.v. licence. I presume that I won't be getting a reduction in the licence fee? Thought not.

Of course we don't have a right to free coverage. Then, F1 and its sponsors don't have a right to our custom.
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Yes, I Know that I'm a BOF. Someone please tell me why I still watch.

[Scott_Mac]