BBC reveal free-to-air live F1 races for 2012
2012 F1 season
The season opener won't be live on free-to-air TV in the UK next year
The BBC has confirmed which races will be shown live and free-to-air in the UK in 2012.
The BBC says it will show half of next year’s races live and in high definition, plus delayed highlights of the remaining races.
The highlights programmes will last around 90 minutes and usually be shown around 2pm for early morning races, 5:30pm for European time zone races.
All the races will be shown live on Sky’s dedicated F1 channel, announced today, which will cost a minimum of £363.
The first two races of 2012 will only be shown live on Sky, who also claimed exclusive live rights to the Canadian and Italian Grands Prix.
BBC will show the final race of the season live, but did not pick up live rights to the United States Grand Prix, which is under threat of cancellation.
| Round | Race | Circuit | Date | Channel |
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | Albert Park, Melbourne | March 16-18th | Sky |
| 2 | Malaysian Grand Prix | Sepang International Circuit | March 23rd-25th | Sky |
| 3 | Chinese Grand Prix | Shanghai International Circuit | April 13-15th | BBC/Sky |
| 4 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Bahrain International Circuit | April 20th-22nd | Sky |
| 5 | Spanish Grand Prix | Circuit de Catalunya | May 11-13th | BBC/Sky |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | Monte-Carlo | May 24-27th | BBC/Sky |
| 7 | Canadian Grand Prix | Montreal | June 8-10th | Sky |
| 8 | European Grand Prix | Valencia | June 22nd-24th | BBC/Sky |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | Silverstone | July 6-8th | BBC/Sky |
| 10 | German Grand Prix | Hockenheimring | July 20th-22nd | Sky |
| 11 | Hungarian Grand Prix | Hungaroring | July 27-29th | Sky |
| 12 | Belgian Grand Prix | Spa-Francorchamps | August 31st-September 2nd | BBC/Sky |
| 13 | Italian Grand Prix | Monza | September 7-9th | Sky |
| 14 | Singapore Grand Prix | Marina Bay | September 21st-23rd | BBC/Sky |
| 15 | Japanese Grand Prix | Suzuka | October 5-7th | Sky |
| 16 | Korean Grand Prix | Korean International Circuit | October 12-14th | BBC/Sky |
| 17 | Indian Grand Prix | Buddh International Circuit | October 26-28th | Sky |
| 18 | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Yas Marina | November 2nd-4th | BBC/Sky |
| 19 | United States Grand Prix | Circuit of the Americas | November 16-18th | Sky |
| 20 | Brazilian Grand Prix | Interlagos | November 23rd-25th | BBC/Sky |
F1 on television
- Will F1′s UK audience recover from its 2012 slump?
- Sky to raise F1 channel cost and offer cut-price stream
- Is 3D or Ultra HD the future of F1 broadcasting?
- Sky to show final pre-season test in 3D
- UK F1 television audience falls after BBC/Sky deal
- UK TV audience falls by one million at Sky’s first F1 race
- Ben Edwards to join BBC commentary team
- Brundle joined by Croft and Davidson at Sky
- BBC reveal free-to-air live F1 races for 2012
- Sky launch dedicated UK F1 channel
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
dawn said on 29th November 2011, 12:20
What the hell do the bbc do with the licence fee. I only every watch bbc for F1. I wont be paying for sky sports as i cant justify it. I dont watch football being a girl but have always watched F1 since being small. Tyne tees gives you xfactor, im a celeb, downton. There is nothing on the bbc worth watching and i am really annoyed to be paying a licence fee for nothing.
d3v0 (@d3v0) said on 29th November 2011, 15:00
There are plenty of alternative methods to obtaining high quality HD F1 footage that I believe true fans without the means to buy SKY can figure out.
How else would I be able to watch brundle say something handles like a cross-channel ferry when I live in the US? :D
If it were available, I would watch Sky over our ESPN coverage, even though ESPN gets free to air coverage of all races.
darren said on 10th March 2012, 15:04
I’ve heard that all races will be shown on a German free to air satellite channel that can be picked up in the UK, I’m looking into that as I outright refuse to line the pockets of either Murdoch or Ecclestone.
Bobdredds (@bobdredds) said on 10th March 2012, 20:48
darren Check your messages for a suggestion.;)