I'm pretty sure F1 doesn't come out of BBC1's budget.

True, it'd come from the sporting budget. It doesn't mean there can't be flexibility within the organisation to keep a spectrum of shows on air.

Imo My family should have stayed in the 8:30 Friday slots right after EastEnders.
4million against POG on a Friday night isn't to bad and i hope the BBC regret it's axing within time.
They now don't have a long-running comedy on BBC1 and surely there's only Two Pints on the BBC now.

I don't understand why they are pissing it around but that seems tobe the BBC way of late.
Waterloo road and DR who both have their series split aswell

After 11 years im still enjoying My Family

I've heard there's plans for a xmas special which will be the last episode and according to This morning it ends with a bang so imo they should do something like this

Xmas Day

6:00pm EastEnders
6:30pm Dr Who
7:30pm SCD
8:45pm EastEnders
9:15pm My Family Last Ever
10:15Pm Comedy Comeback/Royal Family
11:15pm News
11:30pm Film

Well, as a big sports fan, I wasn't happy with what seemed like a pretty arbitrary cap on sport spending. Certainly, I don't see any reason why specific acquisitions shouldn't be supported with money from other pots (ie, from BBC One) where that sport is very beneficial to their ratings, their share, and reaching difficult demographics.

Sadly, though, Mark Thompson has never struck me as particularly passionate about sport, and will simply have looked at the size (and rate of increase) of the costs. In the past, Greg Dyke - with a firm eye on those big, popular events - was perhaps a bit bolder.

I agree, I don't see the point behind a cap. I guess the BBC are suddenly concerned above the cost due to the lack of increase in license fee, but as you say the budgets could be flexible to manage it - the money is there.

I wonder if we might hear more about the Euro 2012 rumour as well, if the BBC are looking to cut their sports budget. With the Olympics and Wimbledon in that summer they may decide the football is not needed.

Curious how a few years changes everything. Then the BBC leapt in when ITV were making "commercial decisions" to jettison F1-which Im guessing meant they could not afford to keep it. Now its the Beeb having to make the sacrifice.

The big question is, assuming F1 goes, will that enable them to keep hold of all the other contracts?

I think ITV actually had a fairly strong line up tonight for a summer Saturday anyway - though I doubt anything will top 4m.


Not a surprise at all - of the BBC's main rights it's of the least public service value and F1 isn't one of the Crown Jewels of sports. Indeed outside football it is the most commercial event in sport.

The Olympics I suspect is number one priority, along with the Six Nations, Wimbledon, the World Cup and Match of the Day. I know there has been talk of ITV getting Euro 2012 exclusively, but I wonder if it might be wise for the BBC to look at continuing to cover the two main football tournaments, but as a secondary broadcaster - so basically giving ITV first dibs at the bigger games in return for them paying a larger cut, but the BBC still showing 50% of matches, ideally including the final - though from ITV's point of view that would be the one game they want themselves.

To be fair to The Marriage Ref it wasn't that bad. It did feel like something Channel 4 would comission to air on a comedy night though! Odd One In was ok but it's not going to pull up any trees.


Formula One does pull up the daily share and get strong figures in daytime. It's strange this story comes out after the good ratings of last weekend.

"If" being the key word. This is a story, based on nothing more than pure speculation from "a senior source" (isn't it always), and is on the front page of a paper owned by Rupert Murdoch. The man who thinks he is bidding to buy F1 lock stock and barrel.

Hm...

Can we all calm down please, and the ITVistas put the champagne back on ice? We dismiss all the guff in the tabloids about Cheryl wotsername, but a substance-lite speculative piece in the Sunday Times and we're writing the obituaries for the Beeb's coverage of F1.

We don't even know who'll own F1 itself after 2013, and which teams will be signed up to participate, let alone whether the Beeb will be able to afford to bid for whatever is on offer then...


From the advertisers who will want customers in the shops in the final two weeks up to Christmas, and particularly in the shops on the last big shopping Saturday on 17th December?

A big final on the evenings of 17/18 December ain't going to be as attractive to them as one on 10/11th, surely?

You must have good eyesight - I can't read what that article says, let alone if it's 'substance light'.

If it was a headline 'Sky interested in Formula One' I'd agree that it was propganada material. The fact they're saying the BBC will axe it is a different matter IMO.


I think shops would quite like people in the stores in the week running up to Christmas as well though.

That's such a shame. Especially coming off the great ratings for the Canadian Grand Prix and winning a BAFTA for their coverage!

It was tricky, but zooming in I got the gist of it:

- the Beeb faces big cuts (no shit...)
- they may have to axe a channel
- they don't really want to do that
- F1 is expensive, and apparently works out more per hour than big dramas
- it gets poor ratings and has limited appeal ( )
- a "senior source" at the Beeb obviously doesn't like motorsport, and doesn't want highbrow guff sacrificed for men in fast cars
- Rupert Murdoch would love to buy F1 and have it on Sky
- ergo, 2+2=5


Well, ITV has never offered their paying customers anything big in the run up to Christmas before, so you have to wonder. I was always under the impression the retailers figure most people will have made their purchases, or at least the decisions, by the weekend before Christmas.


Just to confirm, the BBC have made no announcement that they are axeing F1. A Murdoch paper has.

Move along please, nothing to see here. Well, not yet anyway...

To be Honest theres no point in getting Mad about it. As Robbie has said nothing has been comfirmed yet.

Bless them.


Senior source = Mark Thompson. Though he doesn't seem to have much affection for sport in general.

"Highbrow guff" - I admit there's a lot of highbrow programming that the BBC airs, but they have their own fair share of lowbrow guff too!

The article says the F1 is the most expensive BBC programme being broadcast.

Says something about it costing £1 a head for every viewer, as opposed to the average 7p an hour broadcast cost for BBC1 & 2.

They must have paid well over the odds last time around.

Perhaps a singing contest with an attractive Geordie judge will soften the blow. There hasn't been one of those for a while.

I'm annoyed because Chris Patten has said that the BBC will be forced to give up one of their sporting events potentially. So if not F1 it'll be something else.

Mark Thompson is not keen on sport and it annoys me how he doesn't seem to fight for the BBC. Him and the BBC Trust are so annoying.

The F1 thing is interesting - I can see the argument that the BBC are doing a public service by keeping it FTA. But if there's legitimate interest from another FTA broadcaster, then I'm not sure what is gained by having the BBC spending a fortune on the rights. I guess it makes sense to let them go. After all, they can be bought back in the future. And in the meantime, it might get people moaning about the BBC being forced to make budget cuts.

Continuing with the PSB thing, I think Channel 4 have missed an opportunity with The Voice. Originally I didn't think C4 would bid for it (for the reasons they gave) but that was when I assumed BBC1 wouldn't either. I'd have thought that the BBC bidding would open the door for C4. While it most likely wouldn't have done the same total number as it will on BBC1, I suspect the 16-34 skew on C4 would have been very high and made it a huge winner for them.


Most stories around the start of the XF live shows said about £1.5m (IIRC, Simon Cowell said $2.4m to Deadline). But for 3 hours that works out at £500k an hour. A lot for entertainment but less than many dramas. And that's obviously for a show with 7 successful series under its belt - gradually increasing its budget after each.

Of course we don't yet know how many hours have been ordered so the cost per hour isn't clear. Nor will the total budget be clear until they sign up some stars. But Danny Cohen is clearly staking his reputation on this one - it's his personal showcase as well. I don't think they'll skimp on the budget too much (no Nick Knowles/John Barrowman!).


By the sounds of it the new panel are more constructive and Gary is proving quite authoritative as the unofficial head judge.

The concern right now is that articles about Cheryl Cole are generating considerably more interest and discussion than anything about the new panel. Indeed, I think articles about Nicole Scherzinger are generating more interest. Tulisa scrubs up well. But Kelly's not the most telegenic (in fairness it might just be that ghastly fringe) and the reaction to her appointment has been worryingly muted. It's not Cheryl Cole as a judge that will be missed. It's the circus that follows her.

Its a shame that the BBC Trust appears to contain people who either dont watch TV, dont like TV or have no idea what the general public likes on TV. Or all three.

Capped by who?

Certainly not by Parliament or DCMS.

It's up to BBC management to allocate the BBC's budget, subject to approval by the BBC Trust.

If they have decided to hold spending on sport to 9%, that is entirely the BBC's own choice.

But if the BBCs budget is being reduced itself, and the 9% for sport is held, then the sport budget is being cut.

I think the point is that they're the ones deciding to hold it at 9%. If they wanted, they could change it. There isn't a "cap" as such.

Article says F1 costs the BBC £60m per year.

It's been widely reported in the past that the rights cost £40m per year.

So presumably production costs are £20m per year?

That sounds pretty high but I guess it's possible given all of the worldwide locations?

Indeed - that was the point I was making.

It's a bit like someone on here saying the amount they spend at the pub each week is capped at £x. There is no legal or other requirement - it is your choice.

Oh yes, I know its a management decision. I was just explaining that such budgets exist and in that context the BBC will have weighed up the cost of F1 vs other sports rights, rather than against other genres (the money spent on The Voice was being used as a comparison).

As you say - its managements choice, and they'll have made it based on what they think sports coverage overall is worth. It's not a decision I agree with - but then I'm a big sports fan and therefore completely biased!