Fans reveal state of F1 television coverage worldwide

2014 F1 season

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It’s a measure of how desperate Bernie Ecclestone is to stem F1’s falling TV audiences that he brooked no contradiction while demanding knee-jerk changes to the rules over the winter.

His initiative to award double points for the last race of the season was pilloried by F1 fans, yet remains in the rule book for this year at least.

All manner of gimmicks have been tried over the years as F1 tried to woo TV audiences. But the gross unfairness of double points – which even Ecclestone cannot deny – represented a new low.

Absent from the panic-stricken quest for ratings has been any suggestion that Formula One Management’s approach to F1 broadcasting might also be to blame for the fact that fewer people are watching. For obvious reasons, it’s a subject which won’t get much coverage in F1 television broadcasts.

And yet audiences have inevitably suffered most in countries where F1 had historically enjoyed strong viewing figures until free-to-air F1 broadcasts were replaced by pay-per-view.

In the UK, where an annual F1 subscription now costs over £500 per year, even Lewis Hamilton’s romp to victory in China couldn’t stop viewership falling to its lowest level in seven years.

F1 Fanatic readers from around the world compiled information on the availability and cost of watching Formula One. The data reveals significant variation in the quality and extent of F1 coverage:

While countries like Australia, Brazil and India still enjoy free-to-air F1 broadcasts, full-year subscriptions in other countries can run to hundreds, even thousands of pounds.

Is this the shape of things to come or a failed experiment? That depends on whether those running F1 believe the money offered by pay-per-view broadcasters is worth the trade-off of smaller audiences, and accept F1’s global reach will never be quite what it was.

The other aspect of F1’s broadcasting future is the readiness with which it accepts new media. While some sports have taken advantage of the opportunities presented by the sport to sell its coverage directly to fans, FOM has largely avoided doing so.

However some bespoke video content has been created for the current version of the official F1 app, and a new offering has been promised in the near future.

In the meantime many broadcasters have been slow to embrace the opportunities offered by new media. However some offer the means to watch online and via apps.

In countries where pay-per-view subscriptions are the only alternative, some broadcasters permit access to these online services at a reduced price. In Mexico free online broadcasts of every race are available courtesy of Telmex, who backed drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez.

Other countries are still yet to catch up with past innovations. Formula One took until 2011 to offer high definition race coverage, but three years later it remains unavailable in some regions. In others standard definition broadcasts are offered as a cheaper alternative.

The quality and value-for-money of F1 coverage worldwide varies enormously. While that is the case, it is unwise for the sport to change its rules so hastily in an attempt to win greater audiences.

Merely making coverage of its races available at a reasonable price in the first race would be sufficient for many fans.

CountryChannelRacesQualifyingPracticeAnnual costOnline coverageNotesContributors
AustraliaTenAllAllAustralia onlyNilTen PlayQualifying is shown live on One in high definition, races on Ten in standard definition.@Mwyndo7, @Pezlo2013, @Plushpile, @Fitzroyalty
BelgiumLa Une/La DeuxAllAllBelgium onlyNilNon-live catch-up internet coverage@Force-Maikel, @Ardenflo, @Backwards
BelgiumTelenetAllAllNo€197.4024-hour channel access available for €9.95@Force-Maikel, @Ardenflo, @Backwards
BrazilTV GloboAllAllNoNiln/a@Pandanet
BrazilSport1/2/3DelayedDelayedYes£157.81n/a@Pandanet
ChileFox SportsAllAllAll£84Fox PlaySame package is available for free in neighbouring countries.@Alonsomanso
Czech RepublicNovaAllAllMostBahrain, Canada, USA and Brazil on Fanda; qualifying and practice on Nova Sport@Thaischumi
DenmarkTV3+AllAllAll£356.00Cinemas screen some races live for £10.@Palle
FinlandMTV MaxAllAllAll€239.40MTV F1Online-only F1 package available for €89.95.@RetardedF1sh
FranceCanal+AllAllAll€478.80My CanalCheaper €298.80 option omits some sessions@Gonde
GermanyRTLAllAllNo@Klon
GermanySky DeutschlandAllAllYes€562.80Additional charges for HD subscription@Klon
GermanySport 1DelayedDelayedDelayed@Klon
GreeceOTE TVAllAllAll€20n/a@Sigman1998
GreeceAlpha TVSome live, rest delayedNoNoNiln/a@Sigman1998
HungaryM1AllAllHungary onlyNilTelesport@Hunocsi
IndiaStar Sports 4AllAllAllNilStar SportsYear’s subscription for online coverage costs £5.01. Standard definition only.@FabF1, @Akshay
ItalySkyAllAllAll€358.80Additional charges for HD subscription and on-demand viewing.@Fixy
ItalyRAINine live, rest delayedAs racesAs racesRAI TV World@Fixy
LatviaViasat Sport BalticAllAllAll€178n/a@Girts
LithuaniaViasat Sport BalticAllAllAll£150n/a@Osvaldas31
LithuaniaTV6DelayedNoNoNil@Osvaldas31
MexicoFox Sports Latin AmericaAllAllAll€120n/a@Mantresx
MexicoForo TV (Televisa)All (delayed)NoNoNil (some regions)n/a@Mantresx
MexicoTelmexAllAllAllNilEscuderia TelmexOnline only, low resolution.@Mantresx
NetherlandsSport 1AllAllAll€300Sport 1@Npf1
NetherlandsVeronicaCanada and USA liveNoNo@Npf1
New ZealandSky SportYesYesYesNZ$1,000-1,200Sky NZ account required@Jarred-Walmsley
PeruFox SportsAllAllAll$360Additional charge for channel which carries practice sessions.@OmarR-Pepper
PolandPolsat SportAllAllAll€180n/a@ArtAnonim
PortugalSportTvAllAllAll€636@Mcangueiro
RussiaRussia2All, some delayedAllNoNilRussia2@Olegryzhikov
RussiaSport1All, some delayedAllAll£360@Olegryzhikov
SlovakiaTV Dajto/TV MarkizaAllAllNoNiln/a@Milansson
SloveniaTV SLO 2AllMost liveNoNil@Enigma
SpainAntena 3AllAllAllNilAtres PlayerAlso TV3 (Catalonia only)@Karmen
SpainMovistar TVAllAllAll€600@Karmen
SwitzerlandSRF2AllAllNoNil@Rigi
TunisiaBeIn SportAllAllAll€250BeIn Sport@Tifoso1989
United Arab EmiratesBeIn SportsAllAllAll£1,512n/a@GeeMac
United KingdomBBCNine live, rest delayedAs racesAs racesNiliPlayerA TV licence is required to view live all television programming in the UK.@Keithcollantine
United KingdomSkyAllAllAll£522Sky GoA TV licence is required to view live all television programming in the UK. 24-hour channel access available via Now TV for £9.99 (http://www.nowtv.com/sports).@Keithcollantine
United StatesNBC Sports NetworkAllMost liveFP2 onlyVaries, c. $720NBC Sports Live Extra@Lord-Stig, @US_Peter, @Grosjean0817

Notes on the data

Channel data compiled with the assistance of @Mwyndo7, @Pezlo2013, @Plushpile, @Fitzroyalty, @Force-Maikel, @Ardenflo, @Backwards, @Pandanet, @Alonsomanso, @Thaischumi, @Palle, @RetardedF1sh, @Gonde, @Klon, @Sigman1998, @Hunocsi, @FabF1, @Akshay, @Fixy, @Girts, @Osvaldas31, @Mantresx, @Npf1, @Jarred-Walmsley, @OmarR-Pepper, @ArtAnonim, @Mcangueiro, @Olegryzhikov, @Milansson, @Enigma, @Karmen, @Rigi, @Tifoso1989, @GeeMac, @Lord-Stig, @US_Peter and @Grosjean0817.

To contribute, amend or correct the data please post a response via the link.

2014 F1 season


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Author information

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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150 comments on “Fans reveal state of F1 television coverage worldwide”

  1. I live in Aus and would do anything to have the Sky coverage of F1. The local coverage drive me to tears.

    1. US Coverage too… NBCSN is terrible. And while the commentators are very likable, they hardly comment on the race action. Things get missed far too often, and any time there is a big moment (like two cars almost coming together, e.g. Massa and Alonso in China start), the Diffy/Hobbs/Matchett combo just yell “WOAHHH!!!” or “eeeEEEEEEE!!!! Oh WOW…”

      It’s annoying.

      1. It seems to be the style of US commentating to just keep up a background banter and occasionally yell out at some incidents instead of commentating on whats going on. Their main task seems to be to constantly repeat the names of any sponsors they can think of.

        Sports in general, not just F1 seem to be something you should have on in the background while doing something else.

        1. I must agree, the raceday coverage from the NBC team is mostly color commentary. However, they do a bit better on practice days. Indeed, I record the P days just to get to hear the deeper stories and undercurrents of the week.

          For race day, the only commentator worth anything is Will Buxton, their man on the ground. He will be the only one providing actual event updates. The other 3 are pretty much just monkeys with a tellistrator.

          I feel the US NBC team is too old to know whats going on. Their tech guy Matchett hasnt remenises about Benetton and has been out of the game for about a decade, Hobbs hasnt touched an F1 car since the 70s, and Diffy, well, I stll havent figured out what his connection to F1 is; maybe an European sounding accent. Would be nice if they could get somebody who has been an F1 insider sometime in the past 20 years…

          Of these all, only the occasional magazine from Sam Posy offers any insight or artistic commentary

          Still much better than what they were allowed to do Speed TV,

        2. Try the U.S….. You’ll only see 2/3 of the actual race on your TV. The rest is advertisements.

          NBC thinks that we’d rather listen to their commentators instead of the drivers.

          NBC F1 coverage is ruining the sport.

      2. Here in Canada, we enjoy free broadcast of every quali+race, whenever its not commercial break that is…

        1. How is paying Rogers and Bell a subscription fee free?

          I love the BBC coverage we get on Rogers TSN but we get only FP2, live and a delayed broadcast(which makes no sense, show both FP1 and FP2), quali and the race. No pre-race or post race analysis or interviews, in Canada. We need more than just the 1hr 5min Quali session and 2hr 5min race.

          Broadcasters need to stimulate new audience by having them witness how the entire race weekend comes together. Speed Channel( US and Canada) once offered online viewing of the practice sessions(without commentary), which was way better than just FP2 we get now on Rogers. The FIA needs to ensure their media content gets to the audience not just pocket the revenues from media houses that allow only limited exposure to F1.

      3. @thrillerwa09 Laughed a bit at the – “WOAHHH!!!” or “eeeEEEEEEE!!!! Oh WOW…” – But, in general, I disagree with you. Having watched both Sky and NBCSN this season, I’ve found NBCSN’s coverage to be better organized and sometimes even more informative than Sky. NBCSN also has Will Buxton, which IMHO is a big plus for US fans.

        1. Will Buxton is a winner for his green pants and Maclemore haircuts.

        2. I watch Sky as well, and I really enjoy David Croft. He gets me excited about some of the smallest things, he’s very enthusiastic and is a great lead commentator. Definitely comes from his days broadcasting on BBC radio.

      4. @thrillerwa09 That’s exactly how Hobbs and Matchett were on Speed too. I suspect they still aren’t at the races then and are commenting on the same shots we get to see. Particularly when I used to follow the timing live on my laptop while watching the races I would constantly see stuff happening that they were way late picking up on. I so always preferred the BBC coverage we get on TSN in Canada. Eventually Speed’s coverage was blacked out anyway, but for a long time we had a choice of watching either.

        So as Wooolfy points out, if you are with Rogers or Bell who are the two main satellite providers in Ontario, TSN is included even with a pretty basic bundle of channels, so in that sense it is quite affordable, even though you are still in for around $60 per month, and of course are getting many channels with that.

        So it is not like we are having to pay-per-view F1, like I’m assuming Sky is, where you pay a lot but just for that one channel. But we also get, as pointed out above, a bit of abbreviated coverage in terms of pre-race and post-race stuff, but the races are complete of course. I also note that the coverage was more complete when JV was in F1 ie. Canadian driver. They used to do a full half-hour pre-race show with the highly respected and regarded Gerald Donaldson.

        1. Hobbs Matchett and Diffy arent at ANY races except the USGP in Austin. They dont even go to Canada…

          Those old windbags would break in half if they had to follow the F1 circus around the globe…

          Listening to Hobbs is like listening to Grandpa talk about the olden days, Diffy is lucky he can even spell F1, and Matchett should have learned a bit more about his broadcasting trade before he got behind the microphone.

          I use the F1 T&S app synced to the race footage, and its the only way I can really tell whats going on in the field.

    2. +1 I would gladly pay for some quality F1 coverage, and I’ve been saying this for years. Sure I can understand why the casual fan F1 watcher likes being able to switch the race on for free, but for the more fanatical among us the ONE free to air viewing degrades the weekend F1 experience. I would love to have access to the practice sessions and extra features I see mentioned by those who have a subscription based service like Sky or Canal.

      To give an example, a few races ago on the One free to air race coverage, they went to an advert break right as the replays of the start began (usually around 6-7 laps in). I mean what fanatical F1 viewer is going to be cool with that? I work hard to make money and pay my bills and I don’t see why paying for quality when it comes to the sport I love should be an big issue.

      1. I agree to pay for quality in something I love, but I just can’t afford to spend 1/12 of my annual salary just to watch f1 broadcast. That’s the problem. In my country I could get F1 broadcast in hd at higher price than other 50+ paid channels together.

      2. In an ideal world, yes I’d pay for top quality Formula One coverage. But we all know how pay TV works in Australia – they don’t just lure you in for one sport, they make you get the whole package, half of which are re-runs, a quarter rubbish TV shows and you only watch a selected few shows.

        Right now if you ask me whether I’d pay 1200 a year for 20 F1 races or free-to-air and put up with Alan Jones, I’d take the latter. The F1 app entertains me as a close follower of the sport during ad breaks.

    3. Woooh there, be careful what you wish for. The problem is Foxtel has awkard packages and limited HD channels, not to mention that the HD channels cost more. You cant just get a single channel, so for much of the time the service would be unused.
      While i would pay for Foxtel if it was my only way of watching, i would be doing it knowing i was wasting alot of money. As much as the ads and lack of practice coverage annoy me, it would still be in the back of my mind. Additionally there is no garantee that Foxtel wont fill the coverage with ads anyway, apparently pay TV no longer means ad free full coverage.
      I have previously had Foxtel and for the most part it sat there on kids cartoon channels and even then there were alot of ads

      1. I would do anything to get Sky coverage! If only Foxtel could devise a plan!!..I doubt.

        I already have Foxtel, no other way to watch EPL.

        Thanks to a kindered spirit on Youtube, a certain Mr FiftyBucks, I get to watch all the Sky segments pre, post race, mid week and friday F1 Shows. I dont understand why F1 doesnt use youtube to its advantge. I would happily pay a fee to gain access!

        1. It won’t happen as Ten wants the F1 back after 2015. The only way it’s possible for Foxtel to have the rights, when Ten on sells some of the rights to Foxtel. If it goes to Pay TV then the sport is history. Everyone will start complaining about Ten not having the rights

    4. I live in Australia and I love Greg and AJ. There is a new commentator coming to Ten in July. It has to be shown on FTA and live

      1. You love Greg and AJ?..seriously?..the only person on there that I can bear with is Daz…and he is a bloody Moto GP rider!!..haha

        AJ’s like an old man having a go over a beer on his couch…and I find rusty to a be a bit too smug at times!!..

      2. bob schmob
        8th May 2014, 7:11

        AJ seriously needs to lift his game or the other two shouldn’t ask him questions without notice. It’s always a bit of a relief when they pass commentary across to people that care/know what’s going on.
        Other than that, One’s coverage is great. Things would be perfect if Live Timing could get it’s act together.

    5. Having not missed more than 3 or 4 races since 1983 I would do anything to keep coverage on free to air. The day I have to pay for the privilege of being advertised to by way of F1 will be the day I stop watching. From an advertiser/sponsor point of view, numbers of eyeballs are obviously the primary goal. So in the longer term F1 will surly become a less attractive proposition for advertisers/sponsors if there is decreasing numbers of eyeballs. Having expensive (for the viewer), “better” coverage isn’t going grow the number of eyeballs exposed to the advertising or encourage the popularity of the “sport” in the long term. I think this move to pay TV is extremely short sighted and one that F1 will bitterly regret, particularly if rival series emerge that go the free to air route and capitalise on the void left by F1. The real beneficiaries are only the pay TV providers and Bernie in the short term.
      As an F1 “racing” fan all I want as a minimum is LIVE free to air coverage and I am “happy” to fill the gaps poor quality coverage creates in the experience by visiting and engaging online on sites like this one. Obviously better quality coverage is highly desirable but not to the point of handing over my hard earned cash. Besides, if I did that my spending power to purchase the products advertised through F1 will decrease…

    6. I live in the US and pay about $85 for Sky Sports F1. Worth every cent. NBCSN is garbage.

    7. So you think the situation you just read about in the article is ok? I do not.

      Free TV is the only logical way for F1 to prosper.

  2. i stopped watching and i can tell you I miss it but not as much as i thought and so i would not pay for that i once enjoyed free, the bbc cr@p coverage doesn’t get better the few times i bothered to watch the highlight ( the hamilton rosberg tussle this years only highlight to date)

  3. Good article. I wonder what the impact of this move towards pay-per-view audiences is on companies that are considering to advertise on F1 cars. Because I assume they also see their target audience on television decline, while they do not benefit from the subscription fees?

    1. @hogee, Exactly, pay TV may increase the amount of revenue raised by FOM but probably reduces the total F1 revenue by devaluing team sponsorship and driver sponsorship. The reality is FOM do not get a cut of team/driver sponsorship but got 50% of TV deals making the move to the highest bidder (pay TV) good for FOM despite being bad for F1.

  4. F1 needs to adopt an online streaming service like MotoGP. It’s reasonably priced with access to achieved races dating back to 1992.

    1. Amen. For such a sport to be at the ‘for front’ of technology distributing its content the way it does is an absolute joke. I’d happily pay per race or even buy an online season pass, it would give a lot more people the opportunity to watch it on a one off occasion drawing them in to the F1 world

    2. @brad-ferrari F1 needs to step their new-media game up. In 2014 you need to embrace it and not dismiss it. however, what drives audiences up is basically good competition. Seb’s 4 year domination had occasional competitive moments but if Red Bull had it harder it could be only good for F1, unfortunately Mercedes early 2014 domination is not helping at that front and if other fail to improve their cars soon or build competitive packages in the years to come it will be another era of “monopoly”. 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 were great seasons because drivers of at least 2 different teams were fighting until the very last race (bar 2006). If Marquez keeps on demolishing the rest of the field, Moto GP’s F1 bashers will be desperately in need of a whole to hide…

    3. @brad-ferrari You’re absolutely right.

    4. I would get this. Though I fear this will never come to fruition as it will ‘undercut’ a main source of FOM’s revenue, which is selling TV rights.

      If they ever had an online “F1 only” channel, featuring not just all sessions of the GP, but interviews, engineering features and past races, I wouldn’t mind paying for that!

  5. In Australia we do get free to air TV coverage of the race and qualifying, but no coverage of the practice sessions. I would happily pay for this access and look the excellent content offered by Sky and only wish we had something similar here, or had access to the Sky feed itself.

    1. We do get practice sessions but only for Aussie
      GP.

  6. F1 has turned form a sport to a commercial enterprise, with the emphasis now centred on profit for the partners, oh, actually mainly Mr Ecclestone. The benfits appear to shared out 505 to his “company” and the rest divied up across the teams. As viewing figures fall, the sponsors and TV companies will pay less, thus reducing Bernies income. ER.. maybe keeping the costs down, charging less to the TV companies and taking less profit would allow the TV companies to go back to Free to Air channels and see the viewing figures rise again. Average 9 million BBC , less than 1 Million Sky. Is this mathematical difference a little too obvious. Or am I not seeing the true picture here? pun intended. I actually see it on Antenna 3 i n Spain with a very biased commentary on FTA, but soon it will be subscription no doubt and will no longer be able to watch it. Not because I can’t afford but because I strongly object to the Billions that Mr Ecclestone has taken out of the sport by manouvering himseldf into the commercial rigts ownership. THAT should be the teams alone.

  7. Polish numbers are bad. You need to pay only 28,5 euro to watch F1 in HD online in IPLA service.

    1. @pawelf1

      To contribute, amend or correct the data please post a response via the link.

    2. why you have to pay? I choose to watch for free. via internet streem. not bad quality at all.

      I used to watch F1 for free since year 1994 via public television. old habits are hard to change. and i see no reason to contribute for making Bernie even richer. am i bad F1 fan because I don’t pay?

      1. That depends. Would you pay any amount (one cent ?) – or is it just that you object to the bait-and-switch of ‘it used to be free’ ?

      2. why you have to pay? I choose to watch for free. via internet streem. not bad quality at all.

        I used to watch F1 for free since year 1994 via public television. old habits are hard to change. and i see no reason to contribute for making Bernie even richer. am i bad F1 fan because I don’t pay?

        You’re not a bad fan… you’re not a fan at all. You’re completely ignored in the FOM tally of viewers. So when they say viewership is falling, what they’re really saying is “fewer people are watching our broadcasts”, and that includes you.

        Now, if FOM actually offered their own stream, at a reasonable price, then they could actually tell how many people are watching via streaming, and discover their numbers aren’t as terrible as they thought.

        But as long as Bernie and friends view the internet community as the enemy, or at least, not their target audience, they’re going to keep losing “viewers”.

  8. spafrancorchamps
    6th May 2014, 13:27

    Apparently not, sorry for dubbelpost.

    I was never really interested in motorsports on tv, but loved racegames. I remember in 2008 I was playing the F1-game on the PS3 and got more into it. It was Spa 2008 that made me feel in love with the sport. I was just searching the tv for something to watch and I stopped at F1. The race entertaint me, and I missed only 2 races since.

    The thing is, I watched it accidently, I wasn’t planning too. It was just because nothing else was on. Today, you are unable to get into the sport without a subscription, so no new crowd will be reached. And I think that’s what F1 needs, a new crowd. But no one buys a subscription for something they MIGHT BE interested in. And since it’s impossible to find any footage on YT too, you won’t reach anyone but people who are fans of the sport already. And that group of fans is slinking, at least I get the impression it is. They are killing the sport by making it too unaccessable.

    1. This is a good point. A lot of the gimmicks are often said to be trying to gain a new audience. Yet due to the lack of free to view F1, and therefore tha lack of ability for people such as yourself to “stumble” across the sport, all they achieve is irritating the purists and hardcore fans who loved the sport for what it is, whilst never being seen by their intended target!

      1. Not to mention FOM giving anyone who uploads anything F1 related on social media a cease and desist letter with threat of legal action. I mean, these are fans giving free advertising but still they stifle.

  9. Keith could you comment on the number of people who made reference to watching F1 via illegal web streams of pay tv broadcasts and/or bittorrent downloads in the survey you did for this research? Is there a correlation between people using these methods and them being located in countries with no free to air broadcasts or other limitations, such as practice not being broadcast in their country? Thanks

    1. That is the case in Portugal – since 2007 F1 is broadcast by SportT, which you have to pay on top of a cable TV subscription. Then I switched to BBC on satellite, but since it changed in the UK to Sky I just don’t bother and watch the races online.

      1. Rui (@ruicaridade)
        6th May 2014, 14:16

        As a portuguese i have to agree.

        1. As a Portuguese, thanks good I can watch on BBC and now Sky, because SporTv comentators are absolute garbage as is the coverage… I’ll rather watch F1 stream on skyf1 than SporTV on the TV with full quality.

          1. @oliveiraz33 As a portuguese, I feel sad with your post. You consider sporttv commentators, professionals who work and do their best to bring us the best possible F1 coverage, garbage?!? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but your’s demonstrate an absolute lack of consideration. I repudiate it entirely.

          2. Rui (@ruicaridade)
            7th May 2014, 9:47

            @oliveiraz33 The quality of the coverage has increased over the years but i agree with you that skyf1 / bbc is the one to watch. And cheaper as well if you are only interested in F1.

            @yes-master Every since Adriano Cerqueira the quality of the commentators has been coming down. Not to mention that i have to pay 29 euros per month to watch F1 and still have commercial interruptions

          3. @ruicaridade I agree that sport tv coverage is not great. In fact, I think it should be better (for the price paid!), without any question. However, I find no reason to low the level and start insulting the professionals who work there. No need for that.

    2. That would be an interesting comparison @fitzroyalty. I unashamedly watch all races illegally haha, and I’m in England. I chalk that down to being in Uni and our house being broke as hell! However, even when the BBC has live races, I stream the Sky versions – which is an additional caveat. Presenter preference. Even with the ability to watch HD BBC coverage, I choose a decent Sky F1 stream every time because, in my opinion, they’re leaps and bounds ahead of BBC and understand how to sell the sport to fans. That, and they’re pundits are miles ahead.

        1. Same here. Brundle is the best. I love his sardonic moments. Be grateful you’re not in Australia. The FTA is CH10 which rebroadcasts the SkyF1 coverage (no practice, pre-quali or pre-race shows though) AND the dumb Australian commenters TALK OVER BRUNDLE! It is unwatchable.

          I would happily pay F1.com or SkySports to buy an annual subscription for live stream and on demand replays via the web. Direct from them to me, wherever I am, online. But I would never buy an overpriced and mostly unused pay tv package. F1 needs to understand that broadcast tv is over…

          1. Same. I love Brundle.
            I remember missing a race and resorted to downloading it only to find out the stream was from the US. The commentators lack of F1 knowledge made it unbearable to watch. I muted it.

          2. So Fitzroyalty, you don’t watch the Aussie FTA coverage as it is “unwatchable”?

            I’d rather put up with a bit of Rusty and co, see the RACING!!!… than be forced to pay i.e. not watch my beloved F1 at all. It would also deprive my kids from enjoying the sport and deprive F1 of 2 new fans.

            As a fan base I think we should be pushing for better FTA coverage not pushing for, if we’re lucky, maybe, if they feel like it or are able to, better coverage on pay TV. The potential for crap, irritating coverage on pay TV is just as high as it is on FTA particularly if people simply abandon the sport or find other ways of viewing it… for free. For long suffering fans like me it’s about seeing the LIVE racing first and foremost, and the waffling and quality of the packaging/gimmicks a distant second. Not that I think the latter is anywhere near where it should or could be in terms of quality and features… Still beats paying. For instance the guy sitting next to Brundle I find irritating as hell and am just glad I’m not actually having to PAY to have him annoy me.

    3. Arr, who be asking ’bout me adventures?

    4. How do you measure an activity that, by its very nature, is going to be covert? By their nature, the sorts of sites where you could illegally stream material will not be publicising those sorts of details and the users will (mostly) keep quiet for fear of attracting unwanted legal action or IP blocks.

      Now, I would assume that, given the trends seen in other forms of media (such as video games, TV etc) that tighter restrictions will inevitably see an increase in piracy as people seek to circumvent those restrictions. After all, making it easier for people to enjoy legal alternatives – in other words, free to air live transmissions – would undercut the incentive to resort to illegal internet streaming services.

    5. Using torrents to download and watch the races is not just about not having a service that shows F1 races. When you download a race for example you can watch it wherever and when ever you want. This is why the old tv approach is a dying dinosaur. More and more people watch everything they watch by using on-demand services instead of having to watch it on certain time of day.

      Other reason is ads. For me for example nascar live races are totally impossible to watch because they amount of ads is insane. With torrents the annoying ads are removed which improves the quality. And no, any “side by side” ads are not any better.

      It is super easy to compete with torrents. Any respectable tv company really needs just 2 things. Internet service where you can watch the races whenever you want. Then offer decent quality and don’t make it insanely expensive or restricted. Having older races available as well would be a bonus. And no annoying ads. There, done.

      To be honest when a crappy quality online stream or a torrent is better option than the only pay-to-view option it is not because the free option is good. It is because the paid option is so horrible. F1 for the most part still lives in the 90s where internet was a lot more basic media than it is today. The f1 people still think when you watch something you turn on your tv and pay huge amount of money to see some bits of racing and some bits of ads.

      It is a generation thing. For f1 to move into the internet age there are really just two ways it can happen. Either F1 is bought completely by someone who understands internet or all the main people in F1 are replaced with new people who understand internet. As long as those two things are not happening we are stuck with being in 2014 while the people who make the decisions live in 1996.

      1. Yes, Formula 1 is still relying on TV coverage and it is outdated according to today’s standard. Commercials, no on demand service when races in a different time zone, etc. If they offer an online video llive/on demand service just like motoGP I would happily pay them money to watch the races, as long as pricing is not too ridiculous. F1 needs to catch up with today’s changing technologies.

  10. I worked in the music industry for a while, primarily, looking for old video content on cassette tapes, digitising it, and sticking up on YouTube with a specially brokered ad rate.

    The F1 archive has got to be worth a small fortune, and I can’t believe they don’t do anything with it.

    1. The F1 archive has got to be worth a small fortune, and I can’t believe they don’t do anything with it.

      @danbrown180 Couldn’t agree more.

    2. @danbrown180

      The F1 archive has got to be worth a small fortune, and I can’t believe they don’t do anything with it.

      I agree. They are completely wasting the opportunity.

    3. The F1 archive has got to be worth a small fortune, and I can’t believe they don’t do anything with it.

      I know. I don’t know why it hasn’t dawned on the powers that be that quite a few people would be willing to pay to see some of the stuff in that archive.

      1. Look at the man in charge and you’ll see the problem.

    4. The F1 archive has got to be worth a small fortune, and I can’t believe they don’t do anything with it.

      Cos Bernie already has a large fortune

    5. To me, that would be a LARGE fortune.

  11. I’m starting to change my views on the TV coverage in France. I really felt badly when I had to subscribe to Canal + when we used to have GP on TF1 for free.

    But we now do have more quality with Canal + than with TF1 (admitedly, we’re paying for it now). For 20€ a month (the price listed on the page is actually the base price, but I have sucesfully renegociated my subscription for a second year in a row to align it with the entry rebated price), what do I get that I didn’t get before ?

    – All sessions covered and available on replay (and now that I am married, I do value being able to watch F1 when it better suits my family’s time table)
    – An ad free race (and by g… did TF1 have the meanest timing for ad breaks)
    – Better commenting standards (not related but hey, I’m happy about it)
    – A full fledge 30 min inboard view only replay of the races

    And of course, all of Canal+ content :
    – Their very parisian centric news and shows (I enjoy them nontheless)
    – A wide variety of quality movies and series
    – Availability of all contents on multiple screens (cellphone, tablet, computer, tv)
    – Most of the French football and rugby leagues.

    In short, I don’t feel I’m getting ripped off anymore. That said, I switched to Canal + BECAUSE I was already a F1 fan and I enjoy an income which allows me to pay the additional price. My fealing is also more a case of TF1 having done such a bad job of the coverage when they had it (the last straw : interrupting the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix because it was time for the news.. Meaning I never got to see Button hunting down Vettel).

    I am however sure that a free to air service on par with the service Canal + now provides would vastly increase viewership figures and in turn provide more income for F1. To sum up : Free is good, quality free is better (and I believe anyone who had to suffer years of Laffite’s mumbling interrupted by ads for the latest Twingo will concur)

    1. (and I believe anyone who had to suffer years of Laffite’s mumbling interrupted by ads for the latest Twingo will concur)

      @tango

      Haha, top spot bro.

      I suscribed to Canal+ as early as I heard they’d get the broadcasting rights. When TF1 (free-to-air) was broadcasting, I was watching BBC or Sky ‘illegal’ streams because of all what you mentioned.

      Anyway, now for 20 bucks per month – shared with my beloved one makes 10 – I can fully* enjoy my passion for F1 and getting my dose of racing.

      *If you remember, in the early 2000’s Kiosque had 8 channels dedicated to F1 on Grand Prix weekends. That was huge!

  12. Eddie (@wackyracer)
    6th May 2014, 13:39

    What are my options to watch F1:

    Macedonian National TV – It’s on cable, commentators have not clue what they are talking about, mute is the best option, I can’t watch F1 on this channel, it’s painful. They do not show the practice sessions, just qualy and race. If there is something more important to be shown on the channel, they drop F1 and show what they wish will bring them more viewers.

    – Sport Klub TV – It’s also on cable, it’s on Serbian language (Macedonians know Serbian but still it’s not as good as your own language). They do not talk about technical stuff, there are two commentators and both seem like they are play-by-play commentators. They show everything from the first practice till the race.

    – RTL TV – German TV, they show all the practice sessions, qualy and race, but we do not understand the language and just watching pictures :P

    – Illegal live stream from Sky F1 on the internet, which is where most of Macedonians watch F1

  13. In the UK no one need pay greedy SKY one farthing. Get a cheap Satellite box and dish, point the dish at the satellite Astra 2A/2E at 19.2 degrees East and enjoy free live coverage of all races from the German channel RTL (Practice is usually covered by the German channel SPORT). The commentary is in the german language but BBC 5-live cover all races so turn the TV sound down and turn up the radio. It could not be simpler the only problem is aligning the dish but mount it on a paving slab in the garden and you can twiddle with it without falling off a ladder. Happy viewing.

    1. Is RTL normally free-to-air?

      1. Yes, it’s free.

  14. As already mentioned, there are other sports that have taken advantage of the opportunities granted by technology to sell its coverage directly to fans. Namely the NFL offering a 70 dollars (or so) a year to have complete access to all the games in real time AND replay of all the games of the season plus 2 or 3 seasons in the past.
    I’m not saying that’s the necessary step for F1, but I’d love to be able to watch the races choosing the cameras I wanted and be able to watch it whenever I wanted (since I have been having a lot of touble finding the time to watch it live). I don’t know, if the path chosen is to make it pay-per-view, at least it has to be so good that we feel convinced to pay for it.

    And, in another subject, I agree with “spafrancorchamps” when talked about the problem of new watchers being unable to access the sport unless they want to search for it… it is a problem. I started watching F1 because it was available. Every sunday morning (I live in Brazil), there it was in my TV.. with time I got used to it and started liking.

  15. Canada -, TSN (The Sports Network) no subscription, coverage of second practice session, Qualifying, and race.
    So very lucky here

    1. Not exactly…
      TSN/TSN2, and the French language RDS are cable channels, so technically are not free-to-air.
      TSN always uses BBC-provided audio, either from the live radio coverage or live TV coverage when it’s available. This is particularly annoying for the audio, especially this year, when the commentators drown out all track-sounds. Race-day audio quality is significantly better than 2nd practice. Another problem this presents is commentary getting cut-off mid-sentence because TSN must break for commercials. At least they use side-by-side images so you still see what’s happening next to the advert. I tend to switch channels during adverts but sometimes they are synched.
      RDS have their own local announcers, but no one at each race… unless you count Christian Tortora who just sits in the media room offering uninsightful comments by telephone. At least TSN getting BBC audio gives us the pit reporters and slightly more useful commentary.
      Other than TSN2 having 2nd practice, and TSN & RDS having qualifying and race, there is only a short pre-race show on RDS. There are no other F1 programs of any kind on TSN/TSN2, and if the race goes long, they cut-off interviews and even the podium ceremony in order to switch some all-important fishing show.

      I wish it would be possible to mute the commentary and just have track audio sometimes! The technology is there — they just have to use one of the SAP (second audio program) channels normally used to provide alternate language(s).
      It would be nice if the commentators weren’t so condescending as well. I can’t think of another sport with such a massive audience that is explained over and over and over! Someone should slap David Coulthard each time he says “for those tuning in for the first time“!

  16. It is mostly down to the fact that the sport in general is less entertaining than let’s say 20 years ago. The fact that the FIA now restricts drivers in their driving through the new formula, sponsors limit drivers to express any type of emotion and the fact that FOM is so damn greedy in their source material, just proves that the sport itself is out of touch with the fans. Anyone from the States can confirm that the reason behind Nascar’s and Indycar’s success is the close contact with fans, the distribution of material through new media (full races on YouTube the same day) and the overall more relaxed attitude of drivers.

    It is truly shocking to see how relaxed the drivers were during interviews 2 decades ago, how more natural they looked. Just a room with a blanket in the background and three folding chairs was enough to hold the interview. F1 has always been a business, but as a fan you were confronted first with the characters and then the business side. Just like the racing, it is all about managing the whole show of F1, and like any big business, the top brass cannot care less about the demands of customer.

    I don’t mind the money I pay, since the coverage is pretty descent in the Netherlands (now that Olav Mol is back as a commentator at least) Also because the coverage on my laptop, is not quite there yet. But in a few years time there will be no reason to pay anymore. Just stream it in HD on our 4K screens and off we go.

    The ideal situation of course would be to invest into coverage, in stead of taking the profit for yourself. Something I am afraid will never happen:(

  17. bein sport UAE £1,512??? i have that subscribtion and it is costing me AED 936 APPROX £156 may be typo.

    1. @sjct83

      To contribute, amend or correct the data please post a response via the link.

    2. @keithcollantine @sjct83 I noticed that as well! :) As I mentioned in the thread you linked, my subscription for TV, Internet, Landline and BeIn Sports is AED775 which is about (GBP125).

      1. @Geemac they are revising the charges starting from june. going up from AED 58pm to AED78. BTW AED 775/year incl tv,internet and phone??

        1. That’s what it says on the bill. The landline is “free” and I’ve obviously excluded the cost of calls because they aren’t relevant for these purposes, I don’t have the fastest internet option and I don’t have all the channels they offer or all the additional packages (like Abu Dhabi Sports or channels in languages other than English), so maybe that’s why mine is a bit lower than yours.

  18. Bernie should consider what happened to boxing, because pay-per-view killed it.
    In the days of free-to-air boxing, everybody knew some boxers and had seen some fights. Today, most people don’t know a single boxer unless he boxed in the free-to-air days. Boxing audiences grew until pay-per-view and have been shrinking since, turning a gold mine sport into a nugget.
    It will happen to F1 too.

  19. Stuart Becktell (@)
    6th May 2014, 14:30

    Can’t respond to the link for some reason (bars my account from replying.

    1. What country are you in (and state, if applicable)
    US, New York
    2. Which channels broadcast F1 near you?
    NBC Sports Network
    3. Do they show all the races live or only a limited number (if so, how many?)
    All live
    4. Do they also show qualifying live?
    Most live, sometimes is tape delayed
    5. Do they also show practice sessions live?
    On the app, but only practice 2 on TV
    6. If they are a subscription channel, what does a full year’s subscription cost (excluding limited time offers)?
    $960 for a base plan on DirecTV
    7. Do they broadcast coverage online? If so please post link/s
    Yes, NBCsports.com
    8. Please supply any other relevant information such as alternative viewing options

  20. I watch illegal streams. It’s a shame because I’ve got money ready and waiting to be handed over to F1 for an official stream. I’m simply not going to pay the guts of 600 – 700 euros a year for hundreds of channels that I’ll never watch just to get F1.

    They need to take a hard look at something like MLB.tv and get the ball rolling. I’d happily pay 100 euros to stream the whole season.

    Too many sports act like they are the only show in town, they need to understand that people have a range of interests and if you come at them with ultra premium pricing you might just end up being ignored.

    1. I’m the same, although i make do with the limited BBC coverage rather than trying to find illegal streams. But there must be lots of people who would be willing to pay a reasonable sum for F1 streaming only. My objection is paying for a standard sky subscription and all three sky sports channels even if you only want the one channel (around £55/month plus £7 if you want HD + around £5 more for full sky plus functionality i think). It works out over £650 per year (minimum) unless you negotiate some deal. Even the sky pay as you go streaming option is not value for money imo at £10 per 24 hours… which won’t even cover the full race weekend.

  21. Over here in Colombia, I don’t pay for F1 coverage in the same way I don’t pay for the Champions League or the World Cup (by way of Fox Sports, ESPN, etc). Everything is already covered by the channels in my standard cable package, even if you have to pay more for HD. For the amount of money an F1 subscription costs in some countries, I could literally fly all the way to a nearby GP (say, Brazil or USA or Canada), watch it live, and then come back.

    FOM seems to be begging to start losing numbers to online piracy and streaming as bandwidth costs and speeds become better.

  22. Same With me

    1.What country are you in (and state, if applicable)
    UAE
    2. Which channels broadcast F1 near you?
    BeIn Sports
    3. Do they show all the races live or only a limited number (if so, how many?)
    All live
    4. Do they also show qualifying live?
    Yes
    5. Do they also show practice sessions live?
    Yes
    6. If they are a subscription channel, what does a full year’s subscription cost (excluding limited time offers)?
    AED 936/Year
    7. Do they broadcast coverage online? If so please post link/s
    Not sure
    8. Please supply any other relevant information such as alternative viewing options

  23. I’ve been watching F1 continuously since 1984 and this is the first year that my interest has dropped so precipitously. My reasons include the following; (many of which have been stated by others prior in this thread);

    – V6 engines. F1 has, for me, become too effeminate. Racing means big power, not fuel economy. Bring back V10’s and V12s- better yet- let teams install whatever power plant they wish within fuel and weight rules. I get energy recovery- but V6’s have no place in big league racing.

    – The drivers are too sanitized. Long gone are the great characters of F1 like Senna, Mansel, and Prost. Driver interviews are to me, very boring. Nothing of real consequence is stated and not worth watching.

    – The rules have made the racing artificial. Tire conservation has been important for years, but it’s gone too far now for me. Double points at the last races is unacceptable to me.

    – The current U.S. TV broadcasters are nowhere near as good as Varsha, Hobb’s and Matchett were.

    – Expensive live events. I live not too far from the Austin track, and have attended Montreal, Indy, and Austin. Simply far too expensive for what you get. The average guy can’t get within 1,000 feet of the garages. If you attend an NHRA drag race, you can walk open pits and have your shirt nearly blown off when the nitro cars are test fired in the pits. You can routinely meet drivers and crew members. Pretty cool. And all that for a fraction of an F1 live experience.

    – MotoGP coverage by subscription is vastly more entertaining for me. For about $100 USD, you get every practice, excellent commentary, many interviews, the race is a two hour live stream, the video quality is excellent, and the racing is close and exciting among the top runners. Rossi, Marquez, Lorenzo, and others are interesting to listen to. Other video features are available as well such as tech reviews and etc. And, I can watch it any time I wish with DVR features.

    Many thanks for having this excellent forum. It’s my hope that F1 can return to the greatness it once had, but the longer term trajectory seems pretty clear to me. Every party ends at some point.

    1. – The current U.S. TV broadcasters are nowhere near as good as Varsha, Hobb’s and Matchett were.

      I’m curious about this statement because Hobbs, Matchett and Buxton are still there even after the coverage switched channels last year (from Speed to NBCSN). Varsha moved on, which was a bummer, but I think Diffey has been perfectly fine in his place.

      I really like NBCSN’s presentation of F1 but I am very worried about how dedicated their coverage will be once NASCAR joins the channel in 2015. There’s only so much TV time available to cover NASCAR, F1, Indycar AND the Premier League on the same weekend…

    2. But power has barely dropped, and did V6s not have a place in the ’80s? Or in current top-flight prototypes? Or Indy?

      1. It is not the amount of power, it is wat is done in F1 it self.
        It is now all FIA controlled artificial racing. Since Senna died they went in to panic mode, every thing had to be extremely save and speed had to be controlled. Result cars can not overtake without artificial things like DRS only place a team can innovate is the airo package and as soon as they find something it is banned the next race if not next season. And people think wonder why F1 is so expensive.

        I say set the basics of the car like dimensions, minimum or maximum fuel cell size, maximum amount of fuel (only way correct way to some environmental thinking, specify the safety parameters that a car must comply to, and then let the teams figure it out.

        If they think that they can make the fastest car with a V12 and some energy recovery stuff or an V8 without who cares ! It will give different concepts and probably lots of surprises instead of 24 basically the same cars with a slightly differently tweaked airo package.
        That is what made F1 great.
        – Senna stuck in an gravel trap and hey that darn williams turned into a terrain wagon and drove out of it. Active suspension surprise !
        – McLaren blew engine in Australia in a big plum of blue smoke. First time the cooling was highly pressurised so boiling point of the (special) cooling liquid was raised. Surprise !!
        – Alesi that suddenly in a b-rated car started to pass everyone. High nose introduced Supprise !!!
        -2001 Ferrari introduce the exhaust exit via the side pods for airo dynaminc efficiency used by all teams for many years Supprise !!

        Now everything is controlled.
        – fuel amount (okay) , fuel flow
        – mandatory different tyre types, designed to have certain drop of curve to “make” the race exiting.

        All resulting in that a team cannot do what they should in F1 class racing.
        Make a car drive as fast as possible only limited by:
        – what fast they can make the car
        – what the tyre manufacture can squeeze out of the tyre
        – what the track (conditions) allows you to <- safety car because it is to wet?? Nonsense !!
        – how fast a driver dares to go.

        1. I say set the basics of the car like dimensions, minimum or maximum fuel cell size, maximum amount of fuel (only way correct way to some environmental thinking, specify the safety parameters that a car must comply to, and then let the teams figure it out.

          And this would be just as expensive if not more so, widening the gap between the teams even further.

          1. @raceprouk, and yet the disorganised rabble that was F1 before Bernie made it “profitable” managed almost exactly that scenario, you only need to substitute maximum engine size for max. fuel.

          2. No difference with what is happening now.
            Every rule change the little can not follow big teams in development times so they always be a back runner make no money what so ever.

            The sport is expensive it always was it always will be, if you want it cheap make standard cars and let them only modify little things as in indycar.
            But then you will loose ferrari mercedes etc very quickly.

        2. Don’t get me wrong, artificial overtaking annoys me too, but DRS is hardly linked to safety after the death of Senna.

          And although there are probably too many controls these days, F1 would become even more of a spending war if too many were taken away. There is no easy answer that I see to that unfortunately (although selectively reducing the controls, as you said wit engines, might be possible in moderation).

          1. It is related.
            Due to safety the rules have changed that now nearly all down force is generated by airo, and no longer mechanical grip. Result they no longer can slip stream to overtake, solution artificial overtaking by DRS.

  24. I have answered for the Philippines. :) As a sidenote, Fox Sports provides F1 coverage for the entire Southeast Asian region, but prices vary per country (and cable operator).

  25. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    6th May 2014, 14:48

    If Bernie does lose his job, I sincerely hope that these subscription packages that are ludicrously expensive are scrapped, or atleast let Free-to-air receive every race live in HD. F1 has really shot itself in the foot with this. They allow only paying viewers to see all the action, and then they wonder why their viewing figures drop, so they then try to implement cheap gimmicks in a bid to spruce up the ‘show’ only to actually ruin the sport.

    Here in Australia I count myself lucky that it’s remained on free-to-air tv, only because Lachlan Murdoch is majority owner of Channel 10, so we get the Sky Coverage (minus pre and post race stuff). However we do get ad breaks, which is just terrible because you often miss crucial moments.

  26. It’s expected because in the home of F1 (Britain), viewers need to pay to watch, while in every single country in Asia and the USA broadcast it for free, with FP1, FP2, FP3, Quali & of course race. And we get several channels here where I live and as a result, I get commentary from local channels, as well as Sky commentary. Not much of a surprise when you consider this!

  27. As a Finn, I have been subscribing to MTV3’s pay-channel(s) ever since they moved away from FTA at the start of the 2007 season. However, while initially the PDTV package was priced at just 110€/year, this year I could not be bothered to pay almost twice that amount, so I decided to go for the online route (89€). So far, I have been pretty happy with the service, and I could definitely see something like that being much more common in the future. While some “exclusive” content what the F1 App offers is not really to my taste, I would be glad to pay a basic fee for a HD world feed stream, and I think many others would do so as well.

  28. As the numbers fall, however, the powers that be continue to pinpoint the wrong places where they believe F1 is going wrong. Maybe the finale isn’t enough of a climax! Let’s double the points! Casual fans only care about overtakes, no matter how artificial it is! Let’s put even more DRS zones in!

    Whilst we’re at it, let’s charge people way above what they can afford to witness all of this… and still, I can’t quite figure out why no one is tuning in…

    1. “The race, which aired exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 from 07:00 to 10:30, averaged 681k (11.2%), which compares with 622k (8.4%) and 547k (7.4%) respectively in 2012 and 2013 for their shared coverage. BBC One’s highlights averaged 2.87m (21.1%) from 14:30, bringing a combined average of 3.55m.”

      You are of course correct, Sky’s viewing figures are in-fact up for the GP YOY despite being compared with shared viewing figures.

  29. If F1 had gone to pay-per-view one year earlier in my country, I would not have discovered F1.

    I have no means to access F1 in an “official” way.

    If there was some reasonable HD online service at reasonable price from my preferred broadcaster, I might consider, but there isn’t even an unreasonable one to consider.

    If FOM don’t make a move to have F1 content easily and mostly freely available on the internet, F1 will continue falling behind. This humongous problem plus the recent track record of lagging behind seems quite ironic, if not sad, for a sport that advertises itself for the highest, newest and best…
    No, in terms of broadcasting, not even slightly.

    Another thing to mention, I have not watched any TV for over 6 years. And neither have most of my friends and the people I know, if you discount forced viewing at family gatherings such as Christmas and New year. Sure, many of these people have TVs, but they are not used in the “old way”, it would be more appropriate to call them large monitors. Each of them access media services daily and now the newest happenings, watch their favorite programs and sports, but never through regular or pay-per-view television services.

  30. Reading the article from F1 broadcasting above, Sky’s figures for the Chinese GP are UP 20% for 2014 and that figure for Sky alone is greater than the combined BBC/Sky figures for 2013? How does that represent a “panic stricken request for ratings” ? The fall of from BBC viewers of free-to-air coverage is being outweighed by higher figures from Sky, looking at the Chinese GP numbers.

  31. Our coverage here in the US has gone from mediocre to unwatchable.

    It started with Fox/Speed, but has only gotten worse with NBCSN and their F1-101 (aka F1 for Idiots) coverage trying to lure in channel-surfing soccer moms with low/no motorsports IQ (or worse, casual NASCAR fans). The gimmicks don’t help either (e.g. tire compounds and DRS namely) since the commentators seem to be forced to explain them multiple times during each broadcast in the most simplistic terms, while not going off-script and ignoring many compelling aspects of the race.

    My Tivo is still set to record the NBCSN broadcasts, but I typically go into media blackout mode until I can grab the SKY / BBC coverage off the interwebs instead.

  32. sidecar_jon
    6th May 2014, 16:22

    I watch the BBC coverage and thats it, as a “sport” that is based on sponsorship (advertising) i don’t understand why they are not moving heaven and earth to get F1 in front of as many eyes as possible, instead hiding it in pay to view packages of crippling cost. I recognize the cars by their advertising liver fer cri’sake …why do u want to pay to be advertised at more!

    1. Completely agree!

  33. @keithcollantine You used the wrong link for the telmex website, That’s what you see when you visit from another region.
    Try this one, is better as is it gives more info on live streams, coming races, etc:
    http://www.escuderiatelmex.com/

  34. oh yeah for my its dificult to see F1 in Mexico because im not a Telmex internet user, anyways where i live there is a Italian Restaurant that opens at any time the race starts, almost every time is from 3am to 7am, theres some others ways to follow F1 if yo have a basic TV package (20 dollars/month) you have Fox Sports that is a pretty nice, the host ( ‘comentador’ i dont know the word in english ) of the race in Fox Sports know about F1, there is another channel called TDN… if you cross with TDN as a casual watcher you change the channel in 5 minutes because they dont know what is happening they dont know the rules they confuses names of the drivers much more than normal, at the end ther are like seeing another race, is annoying. The funny thing is that when the race is on TV the guys of the italian Restaurant always say to me !!! the race is in the tv !!! , while im in the live timing like crazy looking at numbres. Yeah they should put some other people in the TDN channel…. hahaha.
    So well my point is that in order to have new people watching F1 you also need good transmisions with the guys of the TV explaining some things DRS, TYRES, ERS etc… during the race in case that somebody is new and not to have football people narrating F1 with no knowledge.

    1. @alan1oo1 oops, I didn’t know that you have to be a telmex customer to watch the races (I didn’t notice because I am one hehe).

      Good to know about TDN but the way you describe it I think is the same televisa broadcast and commentators they’ve used for years now on ForoTV and yes it’s pretty bad, even so, you should add it to the list as well.

      1. foroTV is like 300 % better than TDN thats bad is it.

  35. £500 in the UK? That’s a little misleading because it’s actually the price of a full Sky Sports sub, and therefore offers a lot more besides f1. I use Now TV for the ten grands prix not live on the BBC, at £10 a time. All perfectly legal, for a hundred quid a year. That said, putting it behind a pay wall is the reason for falling viewer figures in the UK, so I agree with the points being made.

    1. It is not misleading, that is the minimum price if you want to subscribe to Sky’s F1 channel. I’m sure your point about other channels being included in that price applies to other broadcasters on the list.

      And the Now TV pricing option is also mentioned in the table.

  36. Formula 1 is not “free to air” in India. It needs a cable subscription as F1 is broadcast on Star Sports. But television subscription in India just happens to be ridiculously cheap. A complete subscription package with movies/sports/music/reality/Regional stuff…etc cost about 4500INR ( 40 GBP) per year.
    People usually say it is free to air because even the cheapest subscription(15 GBP per year) includes plenty of sports channels among which F1 also happens to be broadcast.
    Sorry if the subscription rates makes people jealous. :p

  37. Here in Argentina, we have great F1 coverage (commentators do not enter this category).
    It’s for free with the ‘standard’ package in DirecTV for aprox u$s 30.

  38. FOM really need to relax their copyright rules on Youtube. I can’t watch Indycar for free in the UK but I watch Youtube uploads of the races. Unfortunately, one of the channels on Youtube that I used posted a video of this one Indy car race from nineteen eighty something, which happened to have a 30 second update from the F1 race that had been on that weekend. The channel was blocked from Youtube. It wasn’t even an F1 race!

    “I am a viewer of Indycar from a country where I cannot easily access the races. I found videos of last years races and enjoyed them. I would now consider myself to be a big fan and I like to keep updated on Indycar news via their website …..”

    Just for a moment, take the time to replace ‘Indycar’ with ‘F1’ in that last paragraph.

    The modern, young audience that F1 would like to attract don’t often sit on the sofa to watch TV. They have mobile phones and tablets that they can do that on. Why do FOM think that double points will attract more viewers (everybody can see that that is just not fair or sporting and this in a sport started by gentlemen racers!), when it is accessibility that will do that.

    Clearly FOM are out of touch with their targeted audience. Maybe F1 could try the Indycar approach: allow some race videos on youtube (or at least extended highlights) = more fans.

  39. I tend to torrent race weekends. I have a Sky sub, and Sky Go, but its still an incredibly limited service. The whole point of such a system is to allow anytime viewing, but Sky Go still works on a daily TV schedule, so I have organise my time around that, which is utterly pointless. I’m much happier when BBC does the coverage for the weekend for the single reason that I am able to watch full race and quali anytime afterwards (or whatever arbitrary length of time they deem fit to keep it on their servers for). So if its a Sky weekend, I’m torrenting the day after; BBC, I’m watching some time later that day. I’m also currently downloading the entire 2008 season, something I’d happily pay 50 quid a year for the privilege of. 2/3 disc blu ray set anyone?

    But I dont believe this is at all the problem. Almost every part of the sport is warped in some way, and all anyone wants to see is people racing. We can all have a good time and laugh at these side stories, the political issues, the culture of the sport, but those are the things that make the sport seem murky, elitist, and unfashionable. DRS, double points, points on licenses, expensive tickets, red tape, spygate, fixed races, team orders, pay to drive, crooks and crybabies, and a seeming disregard for the future of any team that isn’t red bull, ferrari or mercedes. It’s no wonder that people feel disillusioned about the sport, and none of it, none of it at all has anything to do with what happens on track. The most immediate remedy is for Bernie to step down, just for the sake of his dignity and that of the sport, and maybe get someone in there that isn’t an egomaniacal halfwit and appreciates the other side of what makes any sport great: the fans.

  40. I don’t know what MotoGP has in regards to cable provider contracts, but their online package is as thorough and accessible as it can be – F1 should adopt a similar model to gain even more widespread reach.

    Not only do you get all races/practices/qualifying live with the MotoGP subscription, but they also let you go back and watch races from 1992 onwards. The new material gives you multiple camera angles, and you can even mute the commentator track and listen to just the engine/track sounds.

    They did it right – F1 needs to catch up to the times and the digital age.

  41. Metro DC, USA. We pay about 188/month for the FIOS package with phone, high speed internet, and TV with a high enough channels package to get NBCSports. Also we rent DVRs from Verizon at a ridiculous rate (essential for scooping up the practices and 2am races where I just can’t stay up.). It’s hard to disaggregate the costs so it’s hard to say what the F1 access is really costing me. I once tried to see what I could chuck, while paying less and still getting F1, and ended up with a migraine and only paying a bit less for jetissoning HBO. I could probably shave maybe $50 by going to a lower channel package, but then I maybe lose some college football and basketball games, so it’s hard to price F1 here.

    As far as the content and quality, Varsha, Hobbs, and Matchett and Buxton do OK. Buxton is getting at little bit full of himself but he only pipes up every so often. NBCSports also does a “debrief,” which is boring, as it’s really 3 old dudes sitting around reviewing race clips. NBCSports shows FP1, FP2, Q, and the races. All usually live, but occaisionally not.

  42. I’ll never understand why FOM don’t do something similar to what WWE have created recently. WWE Universe allows subscribers to not only watch pay-per-views, but also to watch any past event online, and all it costs if £5 a month.

    If F1 were to do that as well, then it would be far cheaper than having to pay the extortionate fees to be able to watch SKY F1, and would allow new fans across the world to re-visit old, classic F1 races. This alone would help new F1 fans get into the sport better, by being able to witness some of the greatest F1 races of all time.

    I, for one, would definitely be more than willing to pay £5 a month for a service like that, and a few of my friends who aren’t as into the sport as I am said they would too.

  43. Just goes to show how much of a dinosaur Bernie really is, completely out-of-touch with what’s economically sustainable and attractive for the sport.

    I don’t know why people still call him the best at his job, take a look:

    – viewing figures have been declining for years
    – attendance figures at circuits have been declining for years
    – European circuits have been abandoned and are always in a struggle
    – Internet content is not efficiently made use of
    – Archived content is not exploited at all
    – Teams are unfairly treated at the end of the season
    – Stupid rule proposals (I’m talking about sprinklers, medals, double points gimmicks, not the new engine rules)

    The sport is losing viewers because of the way it’s being managed, run and made available, not because of the technical rules.

    I really hope once the court case is closed, that Bernie will be replaced by a new, much younger and way more competent manager, who can undo his mistakes and run the sport properly, so that it actually grows and no longer diminishes.
    Bernie doesn’t care about growth, he cares about short-term profits. That’s who he is and as long as he’s ruling FOM, it won’t change – people don’t change their views at his age.

    1. @andrewf1, Here,here, Bernie manages F1 terribly, but he manages the profit for himself and the investors he sold to very well, that is what Bernie cares about.

    2. Well, actually Bernie was well ahead of his time when FOM launched the digital F1 coverage in 1996/1997. But it didn’t take off, so it is somewhat understandable that he does not want to get burned twice.

  44. May not be the popular view but I love F1 been on Sky because they are doing so much more with it than ITV/BBC ever did.

    We get everything live & interactive across multiple platforms (TV, Online & ipad), We get an archive race every day at 9pm, A dedicated F1 show every Friday & we just ended Senna week which featured some brilliant programs & classic races.

    I love been able to select from several different on-car cameras each session, I like been able to listen to the team radio & other bits of data on the pit channel. And having access to the official timing & driver tracker systems are also brilliant.

    The sky f1 coverage of f1 is so much better & far more in-depth than what we had on the bbc & itv over the past 20 years & I am loving it & would be dissapointed if f1 moved away from sky & we lost all this wonderful coverage.

    1. @peterG, have you worked out what the subscription cost would be worth if you invested it into superannuation.

  45. Cipriano Mauricio
    6th May 2014, 20:27

    I do not have a television nor cable. I am able to see most of the sports I want over the web.
    I really enjoy BBC’s (iPlayer) non-commercial coverage for replaying races for I am not able to see the them live. Because I live in America, I have to go through the hoops of “pirating” BBC’s coverage by using UK IP proxies. It would be great to not have to go through this mess when I want to watch the races.

  46. May I add that I loath rather deeply and intensely watching the Grand Prix in the USA on NBC. The reporters are okay at best. One needs to be replaced most definitely. I wish they would show the race absolutely live. I have noticed up to a near 30 second delay! They insist on peppering the screen with their obtuse awful graphics. They have race highlight or updates through the actual race itself which are annoying at best and if they insist on it at least should be on a split screen so we can continue to watch the “live” action. The same applies to the inserts about the host country during the actual race. You think all of this could be dealt with pre or post race but NOT during the race! As a result of this and more the viewing experience is terrible and I feel abused by the end of it. I feel the need to offload with so much more but will spare you all lol…

    To end, I now watch the F1 without any incessant commercials on the Spanish station Univision with a radio commentary. I will also shortly be taking Spanish lessons as they rock!

    1. Lee Diffey is a cancer to the US broadcast and has killed any chemistry that the Varsha / Hobbs / Matchett trio once had.. at least that team was tolerable in spite of the “F1 for Dummies” vapidity of the broadcast script.

      1. I am pleased that Varsha is gone, he was just blowing hot air

  47. I am very pleased with the F1 coverage in the US. NBC Sports has a great team. David Hobbs, Steve Mattchet, Lee Diffey etc…
    It is part of a package that cost about $600 a year. More for the HD version. Since I don’t like to get up early to watch the race, I DVR it and watch it at my leasure…

  48. coefficient
    6th May 2014, 21:29

    Cancelled sky just before oz gp. Haven’t watched a single race live this year yet. Happy to follow it on this site as. F1 is slipping off my radar after being a 21 year obsession.

  49. Formula 1 is the ONLY (i stress ONLY reason) that I still have a cable connection on. I have eliminated most of the dependencies of the Cable. On Top of that, my Cable TV provides the option of NBCSports only in the Top Most and 1 level below Top Most tiers. Which means I am spending $100 every month just to watch F1. Then there are the 3 months of Dec, Jan & Feb without F1.

    I am seriously looking at alternate avenues to watch F1 specially if there is something that can live stream the Races legally on my computer / ipad et all. In the past 20 years I never had to live in a place which does not carry Live F1 telecast.

    F1 and Bernie needs to keep pace with technology. Currently that does not seem to be the case. Twitter, Live blogs and and lot of live timings mechanisms are slowly (not fully) eliminating the needs of the Live telecast.

    I must admit this I love the NBCSports Live Coverage Team (Steve Matchett, David Hobs ,Leigh Diffy & Will Buxton) They are really good and knowledgeable. Well I do always miss the great Murray Walker!!!

  50. Several thoughts as I read some of the comments … 500 pounds (no symbol) I assume that is not a sole charge for F1 … receive other channels as well??? Anyway about F1, I still love it and have been a fan for decades (as previously mentioned way back when it was called various things like F5000 etc) and they raced against what was called Indy cars in a mixed field. Both were fairly equal at that time, early to middle 1970s …. the F1 folks have always been way to aloof compared to the Indy car garages … for a few extra bucks one could get access to the various garages/pit areas and on practice and qualifying days it was rarely crowded. Prior to NBC taking over televising the F1 races we had another channel called SPEED and NBC picked up the same reporters/commentators save one. They only annoying thing about seeing F1 on NBC (and its predecessors) is if there is a weather glitch you never know when or where the qualifying or race is going to show up. It seems that F1 has the lowest priority for viewers, any sport seems to have a higher priority and will displace the F1 race. I usually record the entire series on a race weekend: second practice, qualifying, pre race show, RACE, and post show. I only watch nascar twice a year, when they race on a nonoval track. The rest of the races just get me dizzy for the most part and the end is pretty predictable with a crash or two in the last laps. The new end of race interview with who ever shows up, are more about theatrics than interesting observations from the drivers and perhaps something in the race that was not noticed as a TV watcher. Mr. E like our elected officials here in the US are more like dinosaurs and very out of touch with reality. F1 fans are F1 fans, first and last, I do not care to have a race interrupted with a tennis score, a golf score, or who is doing what to whom in HOLLYWOOD!! Thanks Ray and Remy, my very faithful pooch and a diehard F1 fan as well. PS the V6 turbo engine sound is what turbo engines sound like … for those that do not like it I think Keith could produce a CD full of old V12 cars from past and one could play that while watching the race and Keith could make a quid or so and help buy some new equipment or what ever he likes/needs.

  51. yeah, living is Australia and TRYING to watch the livestream is hopeless. Watching it on the internet and knowing it won’t cut out is probably a better idea

  52. Slackbladder
    7th May 2014, 3:39

    I am not watching any F1 this year.
    I am boycotting F1 for the first time since the 1960s when I first woke up to my fathers passion for Formula One racing.
    I am Not going to purchase any product or merchandise associated with F1 in any way shape or form, I will not watch listen or support F1 until they repeal these bloody stupid rules and stop trying to americanize a European sport!
    I want F1 mate! NOT Nascar Buddy.

    1. Slackbladder
      7th May 2014, 3:52

      Sorry I meant to say, I have been brought up with a passion for F1 and this is the first year I will not watch it, I cannot watch this contrived farce!

  53. In Canada, all we get is the race. No build-up and no post race coverage. And we get commercials.
    So, in order to find out what’s going on with drivers, teams, etc., I have to more resort to more nefarious means of getting my F1.
    I’d pay for an web feed of the broadcast with pre-and post race coverage (at a reasonable fee) , but Bernies’ brain lives somewhere between in 1961 and 1984 and won’t let this happen. Pity.

  54. We in India get coverage of Live Practice sessions too….

    The commentators also do a splendid Job … (Sometimes Alox Yoong joins them)..

    All in all, F1 ratings would be in High in India according to me…..

  55. I live in the UK, and I have an extra satellite dish pointing at Astra 19.2E. This allows me to watch a lot of German channels such as RTL, who just happen to cover my favourite sport, free-to-air. Since installing the dish in 2012 it has saved me nearly £1000 on subscriptions …… ;-)

  56. FOM needs to offer the fans DIRECT streaming F1 coverage for less than £10 per race …. I am not paying for a satellite subscription when I rarely watch TV … why should I?!

  57. Ron (@rcorporon)
    7th May 2014, 13:04

    In Canada we get F1 on TSN (The Sports Network) which I have to pay extra $$ for each month.

    On top of that they only show the qualifying (with commercial breaks) and the race (again, with tons of commercials). The feed is from England though so at least I have decent commentary.

    1. Ron (@rcorporon)
      7th May 2014, 13:06

      I started watching DTM this season and wish F1 would follow their model of having a Youtube channel that puts all of last years stuff up as well as live streams the races / qualifying / practice sessions.

  58. Here in India the dish package costs Rs 570 (6.83 euros) (200+ channels) per month. It includes all SD and HD Sports channels. Star Sports HD2 offers good broadcast with less ads and sky f1 commentary. Only annoying issue is when BPL or La Liga matches clash with F1 schedule (most of the European leg), broadcast available on SD channel only. Many instances i have watched Free practice sessions in HD and race in SD. Time zone wise India is in a very advantageous position save for Montreal and COTA. All European leg races commence at 17:30.

  59. Adrian Taylor
    8th May 2014, 9:27

    Honestly, I think the coverage F1 provides is pathetic. Sure some television providers do better than others, but let’s be honest in terms of the interaction F1 provides its fans, they are several years behind the times. I love F1, and I want to be immersed in it. I want an app for my phone that doesn’t cost the world, I want to watch archived races, highlights, tech features, interviews. I want live timing (that works) and to see onboard shots, footage from the helmets of pit crew workers. Above all, I’m willing and able to pay.

    Am I asking too much? I don’t think so, especially not from a business that prides itself in being at the forefront on technology, and is worth billions of dollars

    As a viewer from New Zealand, the only way I can come close to all this is to wait until a day after the race, download (illeagally) the skyf1 feed with all the pre and post race analysis, and then binge on all the F1fanatic banter a day later!

  60. I accept the fact that no-one has the right to watch anything for free, but I really don’t understand the current trend of making F1 pay per view, especially as they’re clinging onto an outdated distribution model and refusing to embrace new technology.

    As Keith says, it costs something like £500 to get the Sky F1 channel here in the UK, and that is a price that I will not pay. Yes it may come with a load of other channels, but I would never watch them. The BBC coverage is still good but is becoming increasingly patchy and I wonder how long until it disappears completely.

    The thing is that if FOM offered the opportunity to stream races live via the internet for a sensible price (say £5-£10 per race) then that is something I and many other people would be interested in. But if Bernie doesn’t want my money then I guess I’ll just have to watch something else, there’s plenty of other motorsport out there, and a lot of it is more entertaining than F1.

  61. Serbia, Sport Klub (SK1), race and qualifying (all now). Sorry I don’t know the price of the complete Sport klub package.

  62. India may have free to air F1 but the coverage goes through ESPN-STAR carriers.

    We have to subscribe to ESPN-STAR sports channels and still have to put up with advertisements during the races. F1 coverage in India is terrible to be honest.

    I unsubscribed a long time back due to the number of ads we had to put up with.

  63. NBC coverage is terrible. More adds than race. Thank god for the Spanish channel which shows the entire race, no adds and better coverage. Don’t understand the language but who cares. Adds come on on NBC flip to the Spanish channel and don’t miss a thing.

  64. NBC Coverage in the U.S. is appalling. The adds make the race unintelligible.

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