Much has been said about the BBC’s coverage of the Formula 1, nearly all of it praiseworthy, and rightly so. As far as sports programming goes, it’s in a league of it’s own and the BBC have every right to be proud of it. Mind you, it didn’t take a great deal of effort to improve the ITV coverage, but kudos to the BBC for going several extra miles and making their F1 weekend the highlight of a televisual fortnight in countless homes across the land.
Race weekends in my house start with P1-3 on Fridays (if we’re home), continue with qualifying on Saturdays and culminate with a ‘grand screening' of the race on Sundays. I cook a big roast, the phone is unplugged, the doorbell turned off. The FreeviewHD box is fired up and routed through the home cinema to impressive levels. In short, Mrs The Hurf and I make a fuss and turn into an event as we both enjoy the sport. My home is one of those “countless homes across the land”.
It’s a real pity then that Formula 1 and Bernie Ecclestone, despite saying 3 months ago:
"...Sky have been trying to buy the TV rights from us for a long time, but we won’t (sell) because they are not free-to-air broadcasters. With their viewing figures it would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors. That would be suicidal...”
...opting instead to take whatever Sky were offering and screw over a large portion of the BBC viewing audience by reneging on the final year of the contract with the BBC, awarding broadcasting rights to Sky from 2012 –2018. They will now show every race with ‘unprecedented live coverage.’
It’s not all a total loss, (at least as far as the BBC are concerned) as they get to show half the races through the year. In fact Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, is “…absolutely delighted that F1 will remain on the BBC. The sport has never been more popular with TV audiences…and the BBC has always stated it’s commitment to big national sporting moments…with this deal not only have we delivered significant savings, but we have also ensured that through our live and extended highlights all the coverage yada yada…”
In the wake of all this, the BBC have posted a lengthy article here attempting to explain themselves. It's done nothing but unleash a spectacular amount of vitriol, spawning comment after comment, accusing the BBC and Formula 1 of selling themselves out. I'd post links here, but there are so many it just would'n't be feasible.
What a funny old world it is in Telly Land, where you can win awards for superlative coverage of a sport and universal praise from audiences across the land for the coverage of F1…and apparently be happy with the leftovers from the Sky plate and convinced that a 50% reduction in the number of races shown live on the BBC each year will somehow still provide “…all the coverage…”
This is the biggest and most disappointing load of bollocks I’ve heard in quite some time.
How is it possible to show all the coverage when you’ve signed away HALF the season and will now show extended highlights? Highlights aren’t the real deal and if only the witless bean counters at the BBC had sense enough to see this. It’s a great shame and a real pity on so many levels:
Shame on you, Ecclestone, and shame on the BBC too – if you hadn't spent £900 million moving operations to Manchester, you'd have had more cash in the pot. I suspect there's a massive bill for the Olympics coverage too. But, iIf Eastenders is able to go five nights a week following the ‘savings’ made in the wake of this deal, or Doctor Who suddenly plays 52 weeks a year there’ll be ructions, I tell thee. Boo hiss boo!
Race weekends in my house start with P1-3 on Fridays (if we’re home), continue with qualifying on Saturdays and culminate with a ‘grand screening' of the race on Sundays. I cook a big roast, the phone is unplugged, the doorbell turned off. The FreeviewHD box is fired up and routed through the home cinema to impressive levels. In short, Mrs The Hurf and I make a fuss and turn into an event as we both enjoy the sport. My home is one of those “countless homes across the land”.
It’s a real pity then that Formula 1 and Bernie Ecclestone, despite saying 3 months ago:
"...Sky have been trying to buy the TV rights from us for a long time, but we won’t (sell) because they are not free-to-air broadcasters. With their viewing figures it would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors. That would be suicidal...”
...opting instead to take whatever Sky were offering and screw over a large portion of the BBC viewing audience by reneging on the final year of the contract with the BBC, awarding broadcasting rights to Sky from 2012 –2018. They will now show every race with ‘unprecedented live coverage.’
It’s not all a total loss, (at least as far as the BBC are concerned) as they get to show half the races through the year. In fact Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, is “…absolutely delighted that F1 will remain on the BBC. The sport has never been more popular with TV audiences…and the BBC has always stated it’s commitment to big national sporting moments…with this deal not only have we delivered significant savings, but we have also ensured that through our live and extended highlights all the coverage yada yada…”
In the wake of all this, the BBC have posted a lengthy article here attempting to explain themselves. It's done nothing but unleash a spectacular amount of vitriol, spawning comment after comment, accusing the BBC and Formula 1 of selling themselves out. I'd post links here, but there are so many it just would'n't be feasible.
What a funny old world it is in Telly Land, where you can win awards for superlative coverage of a sport and universal praise from audiences across the land for the coverage of F1…and apparently be happy with the leftovers from the Sky plate and convinced that a 50% reduction in the number of races shown live on the BBC each year will somehow still provide “…all the coverage…”
This is the biggest and most disappointing load of bollocks I’ve heard in quite some time.
How is it possible to show all the coverage when you’ve signed away HALF the season and will now show extended highlights? Highlights aren’t the real deal and if only the witless bean counters at the BBC had sense enough to see this. It’s a great shame and a real pity on so many levels:
- That F1 has sold its soul to the BSkyB and the Murdoch Empire, particular in the wake of weeks and weeks of damning scandal...and saying they wouldn't sell out at all.
- That the BBC have been bent over the bargaining table...and walked away from the deal thinking losing 50% of coverage is great idea.
- That the fans of F1 who don’t want to line somebody else’s pockets just to see their favourite sport (particularly in the current economic climate), now have to make a choice.
- Coverage on the BBC attracts 6 million viewers, each every race.
- Viewership of F1 is at a 10-year high,
- Moving F1 to can (and will) alienate a large portion of this audience. The The cheapest way to get Sky and the Sports channels is £31.75. That's not including HD coverage, nor is it taking into account coverage may well end up on Sky Sports 2. The whole package could end up costing £50 a month and I'm not paying it!
- Depending who currently has Sky but not sports, how many of the 10 million Sky customers are going to fork out another £12.25 a month - over a year it equates to paying the TV Licence twice - to watch something that has ALWAYS (according to F1's own rules) been free?
Shame on you, Ecclestone, and shame on the BBC too – if you hadn't spent £900 million moving operations to Manchester, you'd have had more cash in the pot. I suspect there's a massive bill for the Olympics coverage too. But, iIf Eastenders is able to go five nights a week following the ‘savings’ made in the wake of this deal, or Doctor Who suddenly plays 52 weeks a year there’ll be ructions, I tell thee. Boo hiss boo!
