Not at all surprised FOM have chosen to remove their live FTA presence after 2018. However I'm very surprised at both the timing (especially only days after Channel 4 began their coverage) and the complete lack of FTA highlights. My main concern harks back to what I said in July 2011 after the initial split deal;
Originally Posted by F1-Addict:
“The days of F1 being considered one of the biggest sports in the UK are over, only a matter of time before it leaves FTA altogether.”
The drop in viewers was inevitable after the split but an exclusive pay TV deal will ensure we rarely see 1 million tuning in each week. Even now with a marketable British world champion to drive interest we're seeing viewing figures fall to near record lows. I dread to think what they would become should a driver other than Button or Hamilton dominate.
It's obvious this deal came about 3 years early to fend off BT who were very interested in the rights as I understand, but why FOM would not open it up to a competitive bidding war between the two confuses me. Regarding the price, I struggle to believe £50m/year is true given the BBC paid £40m/year back in 2009 and the split currently brings in £65m/year. The only scenario in which this may be true is if FOM do intend to have a streaming service by 2019 which will devalue Sky's rights, hence them only paying £5m/year more than they currently do.
Unfortunately for F1, aging fans of the sport won't move to a streaming service nor pay for Sky whilst streaming will come at least 5 years too late to attract younger generations who by 2019 will already have lost interest in the travelling circus. Of course with no FTA presence it will be impossible to get casual fans hooked on the sport and post-2019 interest will slowly die away. Even the Premier League & Champions League have the sense to offer FTA highlights to complement their lucrative pay TV deals whilst cricket has the advantage of being accessible and the UK's 2nd/3rd sport. F1 has neither of these to cushion the fall that this deal will bring.
Given the comparisons being made to the ECB's deal with Sky, I think it's worth looking at an excellent case study to demonstrate the effect of exclusive pay TV; the T20 Big Bash League in Australia. The first 2 years where exclusive to Fox Sports and average attendance and viewing figures were relatively poor. In 2013, Network Ten took live coverage FTA and since then attendances have more than doubled (7th highest average attendance of any league worldwide), viewing figures have quadrupled (2.24m peak & 30.3% share for the final) and there has been a massive influx in sponsors.
All of the problems brought about by this deal are compounded by the fact that F1 as a product is unattractive at the moment. Even I, as someone who has watched the sport for 20 years and didn't miss a live session between 2008-2011, am becoming disillusioned with the sport to the extent it's beginning to resemble Stockholm Syndrome. If I wasn't a Sky customer this deal would certainly be the final nail in F1's coffin for me as a viewer and a fan. If the sport continues on its current trajectory I suspect FOM's greed in the here and now will not mask the even more bitter taste of irrelevance after 2018.
As for Sky, they produce some the best sports coverage in the world, particularly football & golf. However, their F1 coverage has proved uninspiring, stale and tired after only 4 years which makes this deal harder to swallow. We've already seen them drop their game when not directly against the BBC and exclusive rights will only ensure they treat the viewers with more contempt than ever. I can only hope Sky overhaul their coverage in 2019 to inject some life into their one dimensional 'aging blokes on a jolly' act.