F1 - 2017 Monaco Grand Prix
- Thread starter gofast182
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That's true. Keke was a bit before my time, in at least that trying to get appropriate coverage of a race in Canada back then was problematic; actually, it was about impossible. Now, if more races wind up on YouTube, or, better yet, Liberty Media does something to make a premium historical library available (to which I would pay to subscribe), I'd have a lot of catching up to do.
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
I watch the race via ROKU (cord cutter here) as they are all covered on UK Channel 4, which I get as a package of about 20 British channels for $C 2.09/month ( $US 1.57). They have the full F1 coverage, including all the qualifying sessions live.
Channel 4 only have the rights to 10 races live - the rest are shown as post-race highlights. Only Sky show all races live, including all practice and qualifying. Yes, I do have Sky
I watch the race via ROKU (cord cutter here) as they are all covered on UK Channel 4, which I get as a package of about 20 British channels for $C 2.09/month ( $US 1.57). They have the full F1 coverage, including all the qualifying sessions live.
Channel 4 only have the rights to 10 races live - the rest are shown as post-race highlights. Only Sky show all races live, including all practice and qualifying. Yes, I do have Sky
The whole UK thing about it not being on free TV so much doesn't garner much sympathy for me, with what I've historically had to tolerate to see any F1 stuff at all.
Originally Posted By: Garak
The whole UK thing about it not being on free TV so much doesn't garner much sympathy for me, with what I've historically had to tolerate to see any F1 stuff at all.
Fair enough, but when you grew up with a full and free BBC coverage, with no advertising and no breaks, it's a hard pill to swallow. Luckily I had Sky's HD package before they got the F1 rights, meaning that when they did I got the F1 channel added for nothing - a new customer to Sky now would have to pay extra for F1 as part of the sports channel bundle.
I really like Sky's coverage - it is very thorough and the commentators are credible and engaging. And there's no Eddie Jordan.
The whole UK thing about it not being on free TV so much doesn't garner much sympathy for me, with what I've historically had to tolerate to see any F1 stuff at all.
Fair enough, but when you grew up with a full and free BBC coverage, with no advertising and no breaks, it's a hard pill to swallow. Luckily I had Sky's HD package before they got the F1 rights, meaning that when they did I got the F1 channel added for nothing - a new customer to Sky now would have to pay extra for F1 as part of the sports channel bundle.
I really like Sky's coverage - it is very thorough and the commentators are credible and engaging. And there's no Eddie Jordan.
Oh, absolutely, I agree. It was a hard pill to swallow here, too, when basically the exact same thing happened with the National Hockey League. NHL was free on CBC for decades, although there were commercials here. CBC still has certain rights (similar to what's left of the free to air rights for F1 over there), but Rogers spent a boatload of money by any standards (billions), let alone Canadian standards, to grab the rights for their pay channel.
In Canada, when it comes to F1, well, things have improved over the years, simply because there was only so much TV time in the days before cable and satellite. If I got to watch fifteen minutes of highlights per week hosted by Jackie Stewart, that was a good weekend. Now, it's usually on at least two of the TSN channels, with P2, qualifying, the race, and other pre- and post- coverage shown. Bernie did one heck of a job. I have to pay, but at least I can get it!
My experience with the NHL mirrors yours with F1. I was already a subscriber; I'm watching on satellite whether it's CBC or Rogers showing the game. Few people in the city do things over the air any longer, especially with analogue signals dead. Even rural areas rely on satellite for the most part. Basically, we're lucky it didn't happen 20 years ago, or there might have been a civil war.
In the end, my view is that F1 has to move forward when it comes to viewers. All the hand wringing about smaller TV audiences is a little overblown, since TV audiences are declining across the board. TV, be it free to air, cable, or satellite, is in trouble, although they act like they don't know it sometimes. The days of Bernie being able to get these high dollar TV deals are over. I don't know any young people that have cable or satellite subscriptions, and that bodes very poorly for F1 if they want an audience.
I can watch all kinds of GT3 racing, not to mention WEC, live on the net in HD or on replays, the former being free, the latter with a premium subscription available. Goodwood has a huge amount of free YouTube content. F1 does have their hands tied by their current TV rights, kind of like WEC did about four years ago. I had a heck of a time getting to watch any WEC stuff, since Speed supposedly had the rights, though they broadcasted so little. That petered out, and things straightened out. F1 has to realize that conventional TV's power and resources are dwindling. If I want a premium streaming subscription to F1 and am willing to pay for such a product, I should be able to do so. Sooner or later, network TV is going to have to realize that exclusive rights to events may disappear, or at least be a lot less common.
We get the Sky, as well, but we do seem to have to suffer through Eddie Jordan whenever someone deems it necessary to assign him to deal with the podium interviews. It is nice to see Natalie Pinkham again, too.
In Canada, when it comes to F1, well, things have improved over the years, simply because there was only so much TV time in the days before cable and satellite. If I got to watch fifteen minutes of highlights per week hosted by Jackie Stewart, that was a good weekend. Now, it's usually on at least two of the TSN channels, with P2, qualifying, the race, and other pre- and post- coverage shown. Bernie did one heck of a job. I have to pay, but at least I can get it!
My experience with the NHL mirrors yours with F1. I was already a subscriber; I'm watching on satellite whether it's CBC or Rogers showing the game. Few people in the city do things over the air any longer, especially with analogue signals dead. Even rural areas rely on satellite for the most part. Basically, we're lucky it didn't happen 20 years ago, or there might have been a civil war.
In the end, my view is that F1 has to move forward when it comes to viewers. All the hand wringing about smaller TV audiences is a little overblown, since TV audiences are declining across the board. TV, be it free to air, cable, or satellite, is in trouble, although they act like they don't know it sometimes. The days of Bernie being able to get these high dollar TV deals are over. I don't know any young people that have cable or satellite subscriptions, and that bodes very poorly for F1 if they want an audience.
I can watch all kinds of GT3 racing, not to mention WEC, live on the net in HD or on replays, the former being free, the latter with a premium subscription available. Goodwood has a huge amount of free YouTube content. F1 does have their hands tied by their current TV rights, kind of like WEC did about four years ago. I had a heck of a time getting to watch any WEC stuff, since Speed supposedly had the rights, though they broadcasted so little. That petered out, and things straightened out. F1 has to realize that conventional TV's power and resources are dwindling. If I want a premium streaming subscription to F1 and am willing to pay for such a product, I should be able to do so. Sooner or later, network TV is going to have to realize that exclusive rights to events may disappear, or at least be a lot less common.
We get the Sky, as well, but we do seem to have to suffer through Eddie Jordan whenever someone deems it necessary to assign him to deal with the podium interviews. It is nice to see Natalie Pinkham again, too.
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