Channel 4 the new home of FTA Formula 1.

This has been brewing for a while now, but still big news if confirmed:


ITV to step in as BBC backs out of Formula 1 - Broadcast

Which if true, means they won't be going for the 1 horse power contact as there'll be some overlap with the end of European races qualifiying and the 2.05 from Doncaster.

Unless qualiy is moved to ITV4 exclusively, but the short white haired one probably won't like that.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/itv-to-step-in-as-bbc-backs-out-of-f1/5098163.article?blocktitle=Top-Stories&contentID=2298

Sad times for the BBC. I hope the Tories, Rupert Murdoch and the Daily Mail are pleased.

Most F1 qualification is 1-2pm so if ITV did continue to go after racing too they could begin broadcasting at 2.30pm and take a couple of extra races after 4pm, or show the first couple of races on ITV4. I don't think they'll continue to pursue it if they get F1 but British Horseracig might see the benefits in putting earlier races a few weeks a year on ITV4 and get a higher lead in to the flagship races on ITV.

If they are on a similar deal to the BBC they can pick and choose the races to show live, to avoid clashes with horse racing.

ITV revolutionised F1 coverage when they got the rights in 1997. But since the BBC and then Sky got involved coverage has improved significantly further and it's an entirely different proposition for ITV to when they acquired the rights in the 90's. They will take a lot of grief from the fans for limited live races littered with ad breaks. Just wait until they miss the first crucial overtake, crash or retirement because of ads. Social media will be punishing.

Do we know what BBC paid for live FA Cup rights ? ITV seemed to think back in the day that surrendering everything for live football was the right strategy but in hindsight would BBC prefer live F1 & exclusivity to Six Nations over live FA Cup ?

Well they still bid for it even though the situation was clear enough at the time. Just like every broadcaster the BBC gets blinded by football and the FA Cup wasn't particularly something they needed at this time, though I would take it over Premier League highlights myself as they are able to exploit the rights far more.

All this bailing out of deals early though isn't good at all - the BBC having the Olympic rights to 2020 doesn't seem set in stone at all anymore, though I do think they'd be wise to strike a deal with Eurosport to give up exclusivity to 2016-20 in return for rights to 2022-24 that go beyond the minimum requirements. Sadly though by the time this governments finished with the BBC I suspect their coverage will be a one-hour highlights show airing three weeks after the closing ceremony.

I wonder whether Steve Rider would return to fronting F1 on ITV or whether they'd opt for new blood. For Sky it's perfect - yes, they'll be competition for advertisers every other race but being able to sell themselves as the only place to watch the simulcast races ad free would be ideal for them. I do think ITV would be better off going down the tennis/boxing route of more frequent very short breaks than taking a full break every 20 minutes or so.

ITV may be sniffing around F1 but Sky might take the chance to snap up exclusivity on the Live rights something we know would damage the sport long term.

In terms of the talent I'd say there is no chance of Steve Rider getting the gig he's not appeared on a major channel for nearly half a decade and most will assume he's retired. With the trend to go for younger presenters, it almost certainly wouldn't be what ITV would want to go for. You can imagine them pulling 90% of the BBC team over to cover this. Perhaps Mark Pougatch to host as they seem to be trying to turn him into the face of ITV Sport and the schedule would allow.

As for adverts, I imagine this time around Ofcom rules have changed enough to allow for shorter breaks with split screen advertising. I don't think it would be the what seemed like hours away from the race we had before.

Ben Rumsby .... Channel 4 take over F1 FTA from 2016

Breaking: Channel 4 have taken over Formula One from the BBC.

— Ben Rumsby (@ben_rumsby) December 21, 2015

BBC Sport is to "reluctantly" end its Formula 1 television contract three years early as part of savings across the corporation.
The BBC's F1 broadcast rights will cease from next season.
"The current financial position of the BBC means some tough and unwanted choices have to be made," said Barbara Slater, the BBC's director of sport.
However, BBC Radio 5 live has extended its commentary rights for F1 until the 2021 season.
BBC Sport broadcast 10 live races of Briton Lewis Hamilton's world championship-winning season in 2015 with a one-hour build-up to each grands prix. It also offered extensive highlights of the nine other races.
But as part of a £150m gap in the corporation's finances from next year, BBC Sport was asked to deliver £35m of savings.
"A significant chunk of BBC Sport's savings target will be delivered through the immediate termination of our TV rights agreement for Formula 1," added Slater.
"Any decision to have to stop broadcasting a particular sport or sporting event is hugely disappointing and taken reluctantly.
"There are no easy solutions; all of the options available would be unpopular with audiences."
BBC Sport regained F1 rights from ITV in 2009 but - in another cost-saving move - had been sharing the broadcast rights with Sky Sports since the 2012 season.
"These are very challenging times for the BBC and sport is not immune to those financial pressures," added Slater.


from ……..

BBC.CO.UK
21-Dec-2015 @ 11:08

Channel 4 becomes terrestrial home of @F1 in the UK with new three-year deal. Live races to be broadcast without ad breaks. Release follows

— Channel 4 Press (@C4Press) December 21, 2015

Channel 4 and Formula One™ agree new three-year deal for 2016-2018

Channel 4 to broadcast 10 races per season live – with highlights of all 21 races

Live races to be broadcast without advertising breaks

Channel 4 will be the terrestrial home of the FIA Formula One World Championship™ from 2016-2018 in a new deal agreed today with Formula One World Championship Limited.

Channel 4 will broadcast 10 live Formula 1® races, including practice and qualifying sessions, in each of the three FIA Formula One World Championship™ seasons from 2016 to 2018. It will also broadcast comprehensive highlights of all 21 Grands Prix and qualifying sessions – including those shown live by Sky Sports F1®. All of the live coverage and highlights will be broadcast free-to-air and in high definition.

Reflecting Channel 4’s track record for innovation in sports broadcasting, in a first for a UK terrestrial commercial broadcaster, no advertising breaks will be taken through the duration of the live races.


from ……..

CHANNEL4.COM
21-Dec-2015 @ 11:12

Well it certainly is just speculation but if another broadcaster does get involved as you say it will have to be a free to air broadcaster but whether it is TV3, TG4 or UTV Ireland they will want some good matches not Romania v Albania or Iceland v Hungary. At the same time RTE will not want to give away any Republic of Ireland matches and I am just wondering whether they will also give priority to Northern Ireland matches as well with both nations qualifying and the likes of George Hamilton being from NI and Michael O'Neill who also won RTE Coach of the Year and has done punditry for them during the 2014 World Cup and UEFA Champions League. England matches during tournaments also do extremely well on RTE especially when they lose and John Giles and Eamonn Dunphy tear them apart so I think it will be tricky for RTE if they give up any of the rights.



No surprise with the BBC ending early as they have been making cuts as already seen with the 6 Nations, Open Golf and now F1 but the biggest surprise for me is Channel 4 involvement as it seemed certain it would go back to ITV. Good news that it will have no ad breaks during the race but does this put Horse Racing under threat at 4?

Ben Rumsby .... Channel 4 take over F1 FTA from 2016

Breaking: Channel 4 have taken over Formula One from the BBC.

— Ben Rumsby (@ben_rumsby) December 21, 2015

BBC Sport is to "reluctantly" end its Formula 1 television contract three years early as part of savings across the corporation.
The BBC's F1 broadcast rights will cease from next season.
"The current financial position of the BBC means some tough and unwanted choices have to be made," said Barbara Slater, the BBC's director of sport.
However, BBC Radio 5 live has extended its commentary rights for F1 until the 2021 season.
BBC Sport broadcast 10 live races of Briton Lewis Hamilton's world championship-winning season in 2015 with a one-hour build-up to each grands prix. It also offered extensive highlights of the nine other races.
But as part of a £150m gap in the corporation's finances from next year, BBC Sport was asked to deliver £35m of savings.
"A significant chunk of BBC Sport's savings target will be delivered through the immediate termination of our TV rights agreement for Formula 1," added Slater.
"Any decision to have to stop broadcasting a particular sport or sporting event is hugely disappointing and taken reluctantly.
"There are no easy solutions; all of the options available would be unpopular with audiences."
BBC Sport regained F1 rights from ITV in 2009 but - in another cost-saving move - had been sharing the broadcast rights with Sky Sports since the 2012 season.
"These are very challenging times for the BBC and sport is not immune to those financial pressures," added Slater.


from ……..

BBC.CO.UK
21-Dec-2015 @ 11:08

Channel 4 becomes terrestrial home of @F1 in the UK with new three-year deal. Live races to be broadcast without ad breaks. Release follows

— Channel 4 Press (@C4Press) December 21, 2015

Channel 4 and Formula One™ agree new three-year deal for 2016-2018

Channel 4 to broadcast 10 races per season live – with highlights of all 21 races

Live races to be broadcast without advertising breaks

Channel 4 will be the terrestrial home of the FIA Formula One World Championship™ from 2016-2018 in a new deal agreed today with Formula One World Championship Limited.

Channel 4 will broadcast 10 live Formula 1® races, including practice and qualifying sessions, in each of the three FIA Formula One World Championship™ seasons from 2016 to 2018. It will also broadcast comprehensive highlights of all 21 Grands Prix and qualifying sessions – including those shown live by Sky Sports F1®. All of the live coverage and highlights will be broadcast free-to-air and in high definition.

Reflecting Channel 4’s track record for innovation in sports broadcasting, in a first for a UK terrestrial commercial broadcaster, no advertising breaks will be taken through the duration of the live races.


from ……..

CHANNEL4.COM
21-Dec-2015 @ 11:12