F1 to make HD debut in Britain

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Formula 1 will be screened in high definition in the UK for the first time on the weekend of the British Grand Prix.

But the high definition coverage will not be offered on public television – it will only be screened at 30 of the Vue cinemas around the country.

Vue are charging a very steep ?âÔÇÜ£15 per seat – but they throw in a copy of the official programme plus popcorn and a drink. There are 7,000 places available at their multiplexes nationwide.

The live race broadcast will be free of the advertisements which interrupt ITV’s coverage.

It’s great to see HD F1 finally becoming available in the UK – and it’s another measure of how the sport is gaining popularity with the amazing progress of Lewis Hamilton.

But many fans will be impatiently awaiting F1’s HD debut on British television. ITV boss Michael Grade is demanding that HD broadcasts be made available via the Freeview digital service. Let’s hope he gets his way and F1 on HD TV becomes a reality in the UK very soon.

The following Vue cinemas will be showing the British Grand Prix. If you’re going to one please tell us how it went afterwards:

Basingstoke Festival Place
Birmingham Star City
Bristol Longwell
Bury
Carlisle
Cheshire Oaks
Dagenham
Dublin*
Edinburgh Omni
Finchley North
Finchley Road
Fulham
Harltepool
Inverness
Islington
Lancaster
Leeds Light
Livingston
Manchester Lowry
Plymouth
Portsmouth
Preston
Romford
Scunthorpe
Shepherds Bush
Staines
Swansea
Watford
West End

*See comments

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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8 comments on “F1 to make HD debut in Britain”

  1. I don’t think it’s being shown in Dublin. Pity. Presume it’s a UK only thing.

  2. It does say Dublin in the press release but from having a poke around their website I share your suspicion that it could be a mistake.

  3. 15ukp is a touch steep but if they were to replace James Allen I might be tempted…

  4. Okay, so we can pay £15 to go to a cinema and watch a race in glorious HD with no adverts – a price which includes a programme, popcorn and drink, all of which will add up to more than £15 for anyone trying to buy them at the GP itself.

    So, when will we be able to pay money for the same coverage in the comfort of our own homes? Please say it will be soon!

  5. Why aren’t they doing this at Vue in Sheffield? I would have thought Britain’s fifth largest city would have merited a screening of F1 – even if a relatively small proportion of Sheffield people are interested in F1. As it stands, the nearest location for me is Manchester, which is way too far to travel. I’ll just have to wait until the signal strength is sufficient to pick up ITV1 – it’ll probably occur after ITV broadcasts in HDTV anyway…

  6. Oh well, no Leicester! closest to me is Brum, and I aint going there…. oh well, have to swear a lot at that dip James Allen again….

  7. There’s a competition to win tickets for the Vue screenings on my Auto Trader column:

    http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/car_page_content/34903.html

  8. It’s showing up for Dubin now, and appears to be €15, which would be great but I won’t be in the city on Sunday…

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