If NASCAR did something like the NFL and gave race coverage to the BBC (or ITV/ C4) for virually nothing - just to promote the sport in the UK it would probably hit F1 very hard.

For a US Sport to be on the BBC is probably a very prestigious thing in their eyes.

Germany is mostly fta tv, germans are great in cancelling pay tv than in the uk/ireland

PayTV is nothing like it is here in the UK or the US say.
And i do believe that RTL recently signed a new deal for F1 rights

Italy has the same setup we do in that Sky Sport Italia has all the races live while RAI has 10 live and the rest highlights however: that was after Sky secured the rights and had a say in who got the FTA rights that were awarded to RAI.
So possibly pull-pay in Italy but not in Germany

Madness. Money grabbing short term outlook. Slow death of the sport over next ten years.

Be even worse for the fans if the sport actually got interesting and they actually started racing by 2019.

Shocked that Sky are willing to make up the difference of the Channel 4 contract and possibly more to lock in exclusivity this early. Did the drivers know of this deal early hence the letter?

I'd imagine that the F1 Channel will be shut down as a cost cutting measure eventually.

As for the broadcaster of the British Grand Prix- that will likely be Sky as Channel 4 will be seething at the timing of this announcement and BBC/ITV won't be interested in broadcasting one race in a sport which by that point may have marginal appeal.

I don't see where the cost cutting measures going to come from Sky unless they do the unthinkable and reign in their Premier League coverage.

I have to agree with FOM Fan - £50m per year seems a bit low for a pay TV only deal considering the BBC were reportedly paying £40m for exclusive rights and £15m (again, reportedly) for their part of the shared deal. Which means one or more of those figures is wrong or something else is up.

I think it was once suggested the British GP would be on a protected sports list.
With Sky Sports Mix being only on Sky. Possibly Pick would be the only option to satisfy British interests in the sport.

I don't believe the £50 million figure is anywhere near the cost per year for Sky.

Why would BT want F1? The popularity is declining.

Genuinely relieved.
Strange how its possible to worry about somebody never even met but feel like you know.

.................................

I won't be paying for a full Sky Sports package if they stop the legacy F1.
If by the time this happens SKY does a deal with ITV or somebody for a highlights show the following Monday or whatever I'll make do with that.
Unlike with MotoGp which is easy to avoid the result until ITV4 highlights the following day, F1 result may be more tricky to avoid but hey-ho.
I brought up the really good new MotoGp on screens, especially the line that indicates when a rider has passed the finish line with a few at work that used to always watch MotoGp - none of them even seen the race.
Probably a peek into the future for when F1 goes Sky exclusive.

The double whammy of hiding the F1 tv coverage to lose viewers combined with a Herculean effort to make attending F1 practice, qualifying and races in person trackside unappealing makes you wonder if somebody is deliberately trying to kill F1 altogether.
Climatechangelizards maybe ?

On a lighter note having returned from supermarket proudly displaying my special limited edition can of Sure Williams F1 antiperspirant on my mantelpiece I was watching BBC Click when along came Felipe Massa and a visit to Williams F1 Museum and a piece about their telemetry.
Quite an interesting 4 minutes or so if anybody hasn't seen it.
From 19mins 55secs....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...click-19032016

I think the rippling highlighting as used on the WSB tower looks so much better. The new MotoGP graphics are too stark and oversized to my eyes - presumably to make them more readable on smaller devices and to hell with normal sized TV sets.

Klaxon Time!!!

You say that, but it's likely isn't it, if Sky go down the BT Showcase road? They may well sub-licence highlights and British GP rights to the BBC or to C4, but there is every likelihood that they fulfil the FTA side of this deal by using Pick. It all depends on what their small-print with FOM says. After all, BT fobbed off UEFA by using their never-advertised-barely-watchable Showcase channel.

The Times says £300m for 6 year deal (ie 2019 to 2024) - ie £50m per year.

Seems lower than might have been expected - it's not very different to what BBC / C4 and Sky were paying between them since 2012 - plus might have thought threat of competition from BT would have provided additional pressure to push price higher.

Clearly F1 saw when deciding to sell all rights to sky how successfully BT Sport have been showing some of the champions leagues matches FTA, what a ratings hit that is compared to the ITV days. tongue firmly in cheek

For many the FTA races on Ch4 will be the last they'll see of the live races in a FTA environment, many not having access to Pick on freeview, plus Pick is rubblish quality.

Sky and FOM will work closely together by 2019 and I'd expect any overseas F1 streaming service to have Sky world feed comms and shared resources. Sky to handle distribution in UK and FOM / TATA the worldwide technical and TV distribution.

I think this is great news. It means F1 fans will soon have to take Sky to follow the sport, which means more money for Sky - thereby securing Sky's ongoing investment in the sport and original programming on the dedicated F1 channel.

There were rumours Sky was going to shut Sky Sports F1 due to the FTA live split, but now they can make a serious long term commitment to continuing their award-winning coverage of the sport.

Obviously this will upset some fans who were happy to watch only the FTA races live, but overall it should be great news for the F1 fanatic who will have been genuinely concerned about the threat of Sky Sports F1 going away.

Can you please take your show to another thread.
You have done this in so many and it has worn thin already!!
The BiB on its own is enough to make your entire post laughable!!

You chose to ignore the part afterwards which was the main point, The deal means Sky Sports F1 continues, and that for me is important because F1 is the thing I watch most on Sky Sports. Sky was not getting enough money or value from the shared deal to justify their investment, so this is an important step forward for them and secures the future of the dedicated channel.

I also admitted I can understand why FTA viewers will be less happy. And I don't for one moment believe even the vast majority of them will sign up for Sky because of it,

I think it's important to have some balance because yet another thread was turning into an I hate sky fest.

Im not a FTA viewer, i watch SkyF1 and been a Sky subscriber for yonks.
Just sick of every post from you is basically a paid-for-advertisement and its obvious as such!

No, and this is a good thing. Last thing we need is a FOM portal geared towards casual fans.

Only way im watching live F1 in 2019 is if FOM do a web portal. Make it so..

Maybe Bernie will sell the live streaming rights to BBC Three for a quid...

Of course the way F1 is going right now there's no guarantee they'll be any teams prepared to sign on for 2020 onwards anyway. What a mess.

Channel 4 have been completely screwed over here.

I didn't say you were.

I was pointing out I had some sympathy for the FTA viewers, but ultimately I think those of us who enjoy watching the complete F1 weekend, with pit walks, behind the scenes interviews, and other original F1 programming - we benefit from this deal.

Having a dedicated F1 channel is bliss for me. I wouldn't want it to go away. This deal basically guarantees it won't.

On top of that, we're going to be able to enjoy the full season in Ultra HD from next year.

Isn't there something in the Concorde Agreement that says that F1 will maintain a substantial presence on TV in major markets, which includes the UK. There was talk when it went half Sky/ Half BBC that it could be a breach so wouldn't this be a breach? That could be interesting if it does breach the Concorde Agreement.