BBC to share coverage with Sky

I believe I share a common opinion with many fans of Formula 1 when I say I’m hugely disappointed with the announcement today that the BBC will only be screening 10 races live at the most, with highlights* packages of the rest. Sky now has the rights to the full calendar of 20 Grand Prix from next year including practice, qualifying and the main event. This deal runs to 2018 and at least keeps the BBC involved beyond their current deal which ran to 2013.

It’s a bit of a shock to be honest. As far as I was aware in major markets the teams have certain guarantees in the Concorde agreement (the deal the governs how the sport is run) with Bernie Ecclestone that Formula 1 should remain free to air so as to guarantee maximum exposure.

Obviously with this deal the UK, one of the major markets, loses half of its free to air exposure. There had long been rumours that with the BBC having to cut expenditure due to the license fee freeze, Formula 1 was on the chopping block.

Having trawled through the various Formula 1 websites, I have noticed that Channel 4 were rumoured to be in the running to secure the rights should the BBC not be able to continue with the coverage. If Channel 4 were prepared to bid for the rights, surely there could have been a compromise deal whereby Channel 4 and the BBC share the rights, thus keeping it on free to air television.

It's of course conjecture but Channel 4 would have had a ready made 6million audience just ready to be dumped on its doorstep every other race and the teams and their all important sponsors would have got full exposure to the British public. Sky, not being free to air could perhaps expect to get half that at the very most.

However, rumours go that the Sky deal is worth £60m, £20m above what the BBC has been paying per year since 2009. Taking a wild stab in the dark here, it appears to me that Bernie Ecclestone has gone with the more money option than thinking about the fans of the sport. In fact the teams are looking into clarification as to what this deal really means for the sport, so maybe it’s not over yet.

This deal obviously means that if you’re a Formula 1 fan and want to watch all the races you will not only have to continue paying your license fee, but also have to shell out nearly £40 to obtain a Sky sports package.

What this effectively means is that because the BBC will be showing 10 races live, if you don’t already own Sky sports and would only want it for the Formula 1, you will be paying for the privilege of only 10 live races. It’s a deal that looks to short change the fans.

Having said all that, Sky generally present fantastic coverage of sports and are already looking into whether they can do a few races in 3D (I wonder how many of you already own a 3D television?). As I’ve said they’ll be showing all the sessions live and have extensive multi platform coverage utilising their television coverage, the internet as well as phone coverage. They’ll obviously be full pre and post race discussion, probably until your heart’s content. They’ve also guaranteed not to show adverts during the race, which is a definite blessing.

As good as the coverage will be on Sky, I still feel a compromise could have been found to keep it on free to air television. The fans have to pay more money in hard financial times, the teams and sponsors lose an awful lot of audience and after the hard work of the quite fantastic BBC team, the BBC lose out too. If you’re paying so much for Sky, why would you watch the BBC coverage?

However, I’m sure they’ll be more details announced that may placate the fans including who’ll be involved in the coverage for both sides. There are many options available to them both and that will be interesting to keep note of. Despite this and having looked at opinion on various websites, most fans seem to not be best pleased at all.

*Update: According to Jamesallenonf1.com Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's team boss and FOTA chairman has said after a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone that the BBC will now show the full race delayed by a few hours instead of highlights. Shall wait for this to be confirmed, but that's fairly positive I think. 

Sources: Autosport.com, bbc.co.uk/formula1, Planetf1.com, Jamesallenonf1.com