F1 defends pay TV deals' shrinking audiences
It is an "oversimplification" to say that Formula 1 is suffering because of the move away from free-to-air television.
That is the view of the sport's director of media rights Ian Holmes, off the back of reports that in Britain alone, Sky's exclusive live rights have cost Britain 8.6 million TV viewers.
Writing in the Independent, F1 business journalist Christian Sylt said the pay deals boost Liberty Media's coffers "but has driven fans away from the sport".
Indeed, while F1 has just extended the Canal Plus pay TV deal in France, Alain Prost said just days ago: "We used to have 8 million fans in France watching TF1, but now that it is on Canal Plus it is 750,000."
F1 media rights director Ian Holmes acknowledged that pay TV deals mean audience numbers go down.
"That said, it is a bit of an oversimplification," he said.
"Firstly, there are always commercial elements to be considered, but equally as important is to look at who the viewers are, what the demographics are, and therefore who you're addressing."
Holmes also said pay TV broadcasters usually offer "far more in depth coverage".
"I think it would be fair to say that in the likes of Sky and Canal Plus they have and continue to strive to improve the overall standard of F1 coverage, bringing to the fan far more than ever existed in the past," he added.
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Money. Full stop. Way back when we had paid subscriptions to Competition Press and Autosport magazines...ran to the mailbox weekly to get the current issue. Now we have pay tv and get our fix instantaneously. Companies are not in business to make fans happy, they are there to make money. If they please us along the way, great, but without the money it won't work. Biggest problem with current society is that we expect too much for too little, it's called entitlement.
Here in the U.S., we've been paying for F1 broadcasts for decades. When the cable entity (ESPN currently) purchases the rights to broadcast F1, they up their fee to the cable provider, who in turn passes the cost on to the consumer (me). My cable bill has risen consistently for 20 years. Free-to-air television? Yeah, right.
Sky has made watching F1 fairly boring. I doubt I pay to watch F1 this year. I quit watching MOTOGP because of having to buy a subscription. If I do watch F1 or MOTOGP it will be maybe sometimes be on Youtube. F1 is going downhill. Quit pampering Hamilton, let the racers race.
Everyone Torrents this, get real!
F1 management should get their heads out of the sand! In Australia we had F1 live on free-to-air TV from 1979 until a few years ago, when Fox was given the monopoly and started charging viewers.
Of course, fans are dropping off as they refuse to now pay the rates being asked to watch F1. Formula 1 is no longer a sport, as it was until the 1970's. It is now a multi-billion dollar circus, that frankly has lost it's appeal to the viewing public. Management has lost touch with reality!
Having been an avid follower of F1 since the mid-1960's, I find my interest waning with the lack of competition amongst the teams on the grid, and the focus on taking more money from the fans' pockets. Closer racing is needed to regenerate interest in the business of F1. The managers are doing an unsatisfactory job. They need to forget about the rhetoric, get their heads out of the sand, and ask the fans what they want. F1 needs better direction to attract more followers, and at the moment it's not happening with the current management regime.
After many years of watching F1 on Free-to-air , in 2018 after the change to a pay channel SKY , I gave up. Only to 're sign a deal in 2019 so I could watch all the mega sports events such as WORLD CUP RUGBY. The price of pay channel such ad SKY is sky high and not worth it. Next year I'm planning to cancel my pay to view.
To me it seems greed rules as far as tv rights are concerned. F1 do not seem to care
About the viewers it is how much money can we get. I was an avid watcher on free to
Air tv lost out to paid channel tv. So now I do not watch F1 races any more. And it hurts.
OH So true
I thoroughly agree
Für Formel Langweilig bezahle ich nicht
ReallyOldRacer says that companies are not in business to make fans happy, they are in business to make money, well, unless i am way off base, if the fans are not happy, they will nor=t buy the product thus not making the companies any money, Right?
Logical point, but we still keep paying don't we? And despite our bitching we will keep paying because we love our sport.
Ditto Larry Ham. In the U.S., We have always had to pay for the channels that carry the non-mainstream sports. My cable carrier charges me additionally for two channels I like to watch because they just are not making enough money as it is.
Here in the US attending a F1 event is quite expensive too. I've been to F1 races in Indianapolis and Austin. Indy was absolutely fantastic, easy parking, the most friendly people, one could go really cheap or spend a lot of money, ones choice. Austin was bad. Very expensive, $59 hotels for $350, terrible traffic and traffic control, parking a mile away and expensive, tickets expensive, very unfriendly and unhelpful people working the event....it was just bad, went twice, never again. And now I probably won't even watch on TV. I just hope there are enough billionaires out there to keep the sport going.
Gee, Devro, you didn't like the COTA concert? LOL Yeah, COTA sucks.
I refuse to pay to view F1, I enjoy watching it on Channel 4, albeit recorded highlights. I prefer channel 4 commutators as opposed to sky who seem a lot more aggressive. Liberty need to restore the British supporter's by allowing live screening to non pay per view broadcaster's at a price they can afford, as a lot of households cannot afford sky sports.
You know, a lot of people complained about Bernie, but at least Bernie was a racer first and foremost. He promoted the sport and the fallout for him was a lot of money. Look at the progress of F1 over the years Bernie managed it. What ever happened to – “lets build as good a product as we can and the profits will come”? With Chase, it is – “just charge more and let’s see”. I mean, if it does not make him enough money, he will just sell it. He is not and as far as I know, has not been a real car guy.
Ich werde keinen cent Zahlen für Formel-Gähn.
Please, everyone go back and read - ReallyOldRacer commented on January 24, 2020. I do not think that any of us go to work to make people happy. We ALL work for the almighty money we get paid for our efforts and if we just happen to make the bosses happy, well all that means is that they are happy. It does not secure your place. Stop whining and do something about it like buy the broadcast company and give the product away.
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