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The Formula 1 Thread

Nick_L

By Nick_L
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Snowman

Snowman

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Posted

As Fugitive said, it does make logical sense from a financial standpoint for the BBC to drop the coverage. However, perhaps there's a very slim chance that the huge increase in entertainment factor in evidence throughout the season so far might bring in a larger audience and make the coverage more financially viable. That article said that the British GP tends to attract a significantly wider crowd. If this year's race is a blinder on par with China or Canada, perhaps some new viewers will stick around for the rest of the year...

Like I said, it's a very slim chance. -_-

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Dudley

Dudley

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I love F1 and thoroughly enjoy the BBC's coverage, but if it is that expensive to host then it really does make sense to drop it.

That's from an objective point of view though. I pay my licence fee and watch precious few things on television, but F1 is one of them. I'd rather the money went on that than the infinite number of reality/cooking/DIY/house buying/costume drama shite that makes up a large proportion of the Beeb's current output.

It's not, the article is utter, utter fiction.

The figure used everywhere is only 2/3rds the one they quote. They say "Gets between 2 and 4 million viewers" when they've only been below 4 million once EVER and the last 3 races got 6,6 and 8 million.

So the £1 a viewer figure is VERY misleading as it's compared to hour long dramas. An episode of Dr Who is about £600k and doesn't beat F1 in the ratings.

The £2 million a race seems a lot but then it's not an hour, it's 3 hours of race coverage, 2 of qualifying and all the associated stuff.

And the paper is owned by the same people that are trying to buy the commercial rights to Formula 1 and have a vested interest in hurting the BBC. It's not been axed, it's not even up for discussion for months.

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dayte

dayte

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BBC 4 is a great channel, proper documentaries that are educational. It would be wrong to axe it, especially when shit like BBC 3 (where all the good stuff (of which there are few) goes onto BBC 1 or 2 anyway) is still in existence. Obviously it will never happen, but closing daytime BBC 1 and 2, where all those property/renovation/gardening/boring repeats of whatever are all focused in, will no doubt save a ton of money.

But if this happens, after 2013 it'll be back to torrents and delayed broadcasts for me. I hate adverts in live sport with a passion, and will hate it even more if Murdoch gets his zombie hands on F1.

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Halo

Halo

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closing daytime BBC 1 and 2, where all those property/renovation/gardening/boring repeats of whatever are all focused in, will no doubt save a ton of money.

It won't. They're crap but incredibly cheap filler.

I haven't been expecting the BBC to renew F1. It's an easy way of saving money, it's comparatively expensive, and the licence fee is being massively squeezed (effective 16% cut over 6 years, plus having the added burden of the World Service on top).

BBC4 isn't going to go. It's a bit like Radio 3 - expensive per hour consumed, but solidly fits into the remit of public service broadcasting, and appeals to the middle-to-upper political class that the BBC have to appeal to in order to ensure their continued existance.

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marsh

marsh

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You know what sucks? Weekends when there is no Formula 1. :(

What?, there was only a whole days worth of tin tops and some decent formula renault on ITV4! Commentary is a bit wank but there was some good racing/pile ups/chaos to be had.

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mexos

mexos

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F1 on pay tv is simply NEVER going to happen. Breathe easy folks. The worst that can happen is that ITV get their hands back on it*. The UK is a very lucrative market for the sponsors - there's no way the teams will allow ptv to happen as the money they will receive from the sponsors will plummet. The only person who wins if F1 goes pay tv is the broadcaster. Everyone else looses, the fans, the teams, CVC, even Bernie - F1's reach will shrink and with it so will the coffers.

Not going to happen. I'd bet my flat on it.

* this in itself woud be a travesty. The BBC coverage is simply excellent. I've been watching F1 since 87 & never been more in love with it as now. The beeb can take a lot of the credit for that.

If ITV cannot muster a decent bid (likely - as far as I am aware they've been hemorrhaging cash for a while now) then a cut price deal for the beeb is the only option. It's not like they won't show it here. 5 and 4 couldn't possibly get the cash together, they'd be forced to deal with whatever the beeb offered them.

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roskelld

roskelld

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It's funny, I can only see that Times article backfiring. It's just going to cause an uproar and push the BBC to come forward and state clearly that they're not going to let it go.

It reminds me of the time when Heinz announced that they were stopping producing Salad Cream. The country went up in arms, shows like The Big Breakfast started campaigns to save it. In the end Heinz continued production and the free advertising they received helped increase sales.

F1 needs more exposure, not less. In the UK we have the best there is. In places like Canada and the US, where the sport is barely heard of, the coverage is terrible. It's a vicious circle where there's little demand and therefore poor coverage. As we've come to joyously learn with the Beebs output, F1 is much more than just the race. The practice sessions, the qualifying, the pre and post show coverage, it all helps form a better understanding of the sport.

The exposure isn't just good for fans, it's good for the sport and sponsors too. In the states, it's probably never going to match up to NASCAR and Indy, despite being a better sport, but it shows that the country isn't adverse to motorsports. Both of those sports receive great coverage beyond the race, with pre and post shows, drivers appearing on the news. F1 needs to step towards that and PPV isn't the answer to it.

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mexos

mexos

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He'd have to know he'd always be a No.2 driver while Nando is there.

And that's why the story is dead in the water before the rumor was written. No way Button's going to accept a seat like that since his WC. He knows his worth.

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