Club Arnage

Announced today that next year you will only be able to watch F1 on a dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel - obviously not free.

>Martini...LB

Only "free" to the following...

The dedicated channel will be provided at no extra charge to all Sky TV customers who take both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 or the HD pack of channels. It will be found at 408 in Sky's on-screen guide, after a scheduled move of the Sky Sports channels. Sky Sports viewers without the Sky+ HD pack will receive a standard definition version.

Plus, of course, the 10 race live package on BBC, plus their highlights for the other races.

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7332332/Sky-Sports-launches-F1-channel (http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7332332/Sky-Sports-launches-F1-channel)

Bet the sponsors love this.

It will be back on the Beeb in a few years, I wont be paying for it and I dont expect many others will either, so before long there will be some sort of discount rate followed by a humbling switch back to free to air, either BBC or Channel 4 (or was it 5) that had also put in a bid.

I wonder what the actual delay in the highlights program is? live is clearly he instant it happens, is there minimum time that must pass before a hightlights show goes out our could it start running 1 minute after the live sky transmisson? ;D

Well, you only need about 1 minute for the highlights of most F1 races anyway ::)

Stuff Sky - have to work out other ways of watching it

option 1 - get a spanish box like they did with the Sky Football at pubs

option 2 - watch German TV on satalite and listen to it via Radio5 - which I have done in the past and is easy.

Like people say, give it a while and Sky don't cover their costs and it will be back at the BBC (I hope)

I think I read it was a 4 hours delay, but my guess is that the BBC will put it on at 7 pm anyway

As for the German satellite channel, I think you'll have to move the dish to pick it up :'(

I agree, nobody is going to pay the extra, but so many have Sky sports anyway

You can always try "justin.TV" and watch it on a lap top ;) ;)

watch it on the computer, someone will always post a link to somewhere and have radio five live on aswell, no problem as it lets the wife watch some decorating program on the tv

I prefer to watch Retro Formula One on ESPN classic. Proper cars, proper drivers, big slicks, snorkels, big hair and flares. Ace!

And they don't look like they're on rails

Where did it all go wrong

I've been watching some Le Mans from the 1970s - It just so much better

Speed! They may look like they are on rails but the truth is they are much faster and maybe the grace has gone.

They still oversteer and drift, its just much faster.

The ESPN programs are great, this week brought back memorys, wanting watson to win in the Brabham Alfa at silverstone. Has there ever been a better looking F1?

Once you've lived without F1 for a while it becomes so unimportant that you don't even bother taking any notice of the news when they say that Vettel has got pole/won again. 
IMO F1 got boring a long time ago and these days I prefer spending my time (and money) at the speedway watching locals do mad things in something they welded together in their shed.  It's much more fun and much more accessible.

Dx

Of course they're faster now, but there was something really romantic about that era (I assume your talking about the seventies).  It wasn't the sanitized, over regulated, made for TV extravaganza that F1 has become.  They were still racing on the classic circuits (Zandvoort, Osterriechring, Kyalami, etc.) not some cookie cutter Tilke track in the Middle Eastern desert somewhere.  It wasn't all glorious, some really awful things happened, it was terribly dangerous, but watching the drivers laying it on the line, knowing the risk-reward factor, made it impossible not to be attracted to it.
On a different note, looks like the USGP in Austin has fallen apart, wow, never saw that coming ::)  I think I made the comment when the circuit and race was first announced that I'll believe it when I see cars turning laps, too many people with lots of money and grand ideas, that have no idea how Bernie and his henchmen actually operate.  I give the New Jersey race even less chance of actually taking place.  Dorna did the smart thing and re-upped their MotoGP contract with IMS, and if Bernie does really want a race in the US, he should go back to the folks at 16th & Georgetown with his cap in his hand and promise not to f**k things up like he did last time.  But we all know he won't do that.  Why do that when he can convince the dictator of rinky-dink little third world nation, that hosting a GP will make his nation important, for a small fee of course.  Travelling to emerging nations, and all that over-used BS that Bernie likes to feed us.
Fax

I never thought I'd agree with Doris, especially when it comes to what men do in sheds, but it is nice to feel it and smell it and kick the tyres, and you could do that at Le Mans not so long ago :'( :'( :'(

Right on all counts, but I would not dismiss the current F1 so quickly, rather despite the meddling of the greedy f**k*r BE, F1 is in a bit of a golden age. The drivers seem more human, Vettal is a class act and would have cut it whatever era he raced in, the others largely seem a more interesting bunch than 10 years ago. The cars are pretty impressive as well.

The selling of the rights to sky is a crime imho, the teams sponsors should have demanded it remained on free to view, but like the teams they are a spineless bunch when faced with BE and his wad.

Seeing as Brundle has taken sky's shilling, I wonder if sky plan to sponsor or make a program about his LM effort. it would make sense for them I would have thought.

RE the US GP, if Bernie really wanted a GP state side, there are plenty of tracks already in exisitance that would do the job. no need to build a new one.

"Seeing as Brundle has taken sky's shilling"

What a great shame that is. the Beeb will have to look long and hard before they find anyone half as interesting and knowledgeable. I'll quite probably give up on F1 again as a result.

I work in F1 and i won't be getting sky. and a asking others at work if they haven't got sky they won't be getting it.

Its all sad but true

Brundle probably had to take the Sky shilling - have you seen what running a LM car can cost ;D

I have Sky, (as there is no Freeview Signal here at all) and was rather please to see that it will cost no extra to those customers who already have Sky Sports 1 and 2 or Sky HD. Most customers to Sky have HD so most will get it.

I do agree though that the BBC should have the exclusive rights and it is a shame that it will not be shown in full for free next year.

Hey Buddy

Hope that fence is not too painful  ;D ;D

>Martini...LB

Agreed Nordic with your comments about the current crop of drivers, enormously talented, and most seem really decent blokes.
Its easy to be misty-eyed about the late turbo era, but it would be hard to find a more disagreeable group of human beings than the lot usually standing on the podiums back then.  There were some good men participating then as well, Laffite, Tambay, Warwick, etc. But it was usually a group of world class pissers & moaners getting all the attention.
Fax

I doubt that "most" Sky customers have HD, I don't and those that have pre-HD TV's running fine don't either! And anyway, why should HD cost anymore than normal TV???  Personally I won't be increasing my Sky subscription to take on Sports or HD, and I bet they increase the cost somewhere along the line, anyway, to pay for the F1 fees!

I've only ever watched F1 if there isn't something better to do,  I'd watched all of the paint dry in our house by mid-may ::)

Now if Sky announced a 24/7 Endurance Racing channel then that would be a different kettle of fish for all of us!

Motors TV comes with the sky sports channels, there is a fair bit of endro stuff on there along with rallying, motorbikes, truck racing, British GT the list goes on....

Motors is free if you have a Sky Freesat box and the one-off payment card (abt £10 off fleebay).  No need to take all the other cr*p on top or pay Rupert a regular sub'. :)

I'm on the other side.  As a Sky Sports HD subscriber, this is good news for me personally - the service that Sky provides to sports, is second to none in this country - yes, it's expensive, but there is no "divine right" that F1 should be Free to Air - if anything, it's a premium branded sport when compared to the likes of the Premier League.  The way football coverage has been improved over the last 10 years, has left F1 lagging WAY behind - time to bring it into the 21st century - and I'm sorry, but the Beeb just can't do that..... Especially given that they are as much under scrutiny as any other public body at the moment with regards to funds.

Vegas! is right - most sky subscribers now, do have HD (sky have been pushing it hard for a long time - to the point that if you're a sky subscriber, then it's the obvious choice). 

Why should HD be more expensive?  Sit down in front of a Full HD (1080p - or 1080i for sky technically) and watch an hours sports.  Then go back to your standard def TV, and I defy you to not pick up the phone and order the HD box and a new TV.  Now the reason it's more expensive, is that every piece of broadcasting kit that Sky had, needed to be replaced, with HD stuff - everything from the cameras, to the production suites - that's no small amount of money.  Just like anything - the money has to come from somewhere, so they charge £10 per month to those of us who choose to take out HD programming.  I for one, would never go back to SD.

But perhaps my view is skewed by the fact that I'm also a football fan and a bit of a techie geek :)

I am sorry but I disagree, The BBC coverage with no adverts is a much better way for F1 to be shown, and what do you think will happen if Sky see a better way to make money else where, motor racing is also about excitement and not the quality of the pixels on your screen, better that people actually go to see it themselves. Funny how everyone is happy with what they have until a salesmen tells them that they must have the new super/better version and then the old one goes into the bin.

My suggestion to you is cancel Sky and use the money to go and see a sport wether it is racing or football it is even better than HD i promise you 

Have to agree with Brad on this one.
Been a Sky subscriber for nearly 20 years now and the service is exemplary. Second to none service, customer service and quality.
I can only remember two service failures in that entire time - and at least one, if not both occasions were weather related!

Could NEVER go back to Land or Freeview services only now.....................................how would I be able to record all 24 hours of Le Mans for heavens sake! ????? ;)

So as an existing subscriber, it is really neither here or there to me if GP is shown on BBC or Sports.

However, Of course we want the new SUPER / BETTER version of everything that becomes available - that's what early adopters do (progress). It's fundamental for things to move on surely - and that's a fundamental part of the sport we are discussing.

My suggestion is to keep Sky, but go and see the sport LIVE as well - if that's what you want to do!
And when you get home you can watch the whole thing again (including the bits you missed - you can't see a whole GP circuit or race whilst you are there!) from the comfort of your couch, in full HD and forward through the adverts.

You're welcome to disagree.  You're wrong - but you can do it anyway :)

I'm a season ticket holder at Reading FC (which is my team) and I attend Le-Mans every year (OK OK, this one is debatable - but I will return!) and I spent 15 years going to the British Grand Prix religiously.  As well as having a sky subscription now that I have moved out.

Sky have already committed to having no ad breaks during the race....so no change there.  They've bought in the best commentary team they could find - good stuff.  And they can plough money into the viewing experience.  I can't practically get to every F1 round, so these things matter to me.  To my mind, they are the people who can improve F1's coverage. 

As CLKGTRLM1 says (seriously I should really find out who you are in a sober state!) - yes, I'm an early adopter - and I always want the newer version of everything (although not 3d - that doesn't appeal to me at all) - but actually - this is not early adoption any more.  If you haven't got HD capability these days, you're way behind the times..... Think of it as being like not having a CD player in about 1995 - when everyone just...did.....

 

Well I do have a large Plasma HD screen but also priciplals and therefore i will not pay money for something that should be free, and especially if that money is going to a certain Mr murdock, I have not actually attended an F1 race for many years, prefering sportscar and classic races, but do like to see the F1 races live on TV. I am not really bothered about recorded highlights, once i know the result the excitement goes. As for soccer i am more than happy that it is on Sky as it leaves room for Rugby on free channels. I do believe that all sport's fans should try to attend some real sport if possible, the atmosphere is part and parcel of sports and i firmly believe that sport on TV lacks that most vital incredient.

Should be free??

One of the most premium sports in the world?  Seriously?

The only sports which remain free, are the boring ones, that nobody really cares about - Rugby, Horse Racing, even MotoGP to some extent.

The only real surprise, is that it's taken this long for Sky to become involved. 

I agree in terms of attending sports events - I do it all the time - so you're preaching to the converted - but I can't get to every football match I want to watch, and I definitely cannot get to every GP I want to - but when second best is all I've got, I'd much rather that was in Full gleaming HD, accompanied by the best commentators, and all of the interactive services which Sky are promising, than being cobbled together by the BBC - and I am therefore prepared to pay for it (as are much of the rest of the population!)

This is part of a wider debate really - far too many people believe that things should be "free" - sorry, but money makes the world go round - a business with money behind them, is going to give a better experience than an overspent, under funded public body.

Yes Brad,

I've been on here for ages - and seems like I know you all so well ;D ;D ;D ;D - but we have not met.
I've never managed to get to the Club Arnage meeting to show my face (there are normally several dozen reasons why I don't make it!! - I think these come in little green boxes - two doxen per box..........)
And I'm only down the road from you in Oxford.

I PROMISE to try to get to the meeting this year to fess up and show my face 8)

Dean

lively debate thats what i like,

Will try to make the CA meet either at the main or the classic this year but what with the ten-tenths meet on saturday and the pit visits each friday plus the social activity on tertre rouge it is hard to find time, 5 days in lemans in june seems to get more hectic each year.

Another problem seems to be looming if you want to watch F1 for free (BBC HD with freesat) is that the James 'the Cock' Allen could be making a return.

In which case, I'm going to ring sky and offer them even more money for what I already have....if it keeps that to55er off of my TV, I'm quite prepared to pay whatever they want!!

First opportunity is this weekend :)  Reading I believe (check the top thread). 

Can someone please explain how the Beeb is free when you pay a license fee each year?  True, it's not as much as Sky but free???  I think not.

Dx

Your right, its not free, but you have a choice to pay for sky, with the BBC its more of a TV tax.

Ben Edwards will be taking over the Beeb commentary with DC next year, a good choice IMO.

Pity DC hasn't gone to sky as well.

Yes, I agree.  Does this mean JA will do Cravitz's old job again?

Deb, thankfully not, Lee Mckenzie will be the pit lane reporter :P. Interesting (or may not be the case)fact: JA called his 2 sons Enzo and Emerson - what a C@£K

Down boy!
In 2010, Enzo was the 3rd most popular name for newborns in the Sarthe!

My cats are called Cooper, Lola, Chevron and Cosworth.  Does that count?

My first born was named after one of Termies cats!

Also hoping to make my first CA meet next year (at the seventh attempt). I'm usually taking a drink induced nap when they happen. :D

Mr Button was named after one of my old cars?

Who on earth is Morris Button ;D

Austin's twin brother.

His hobby was growing leylandi...

>Martini...LB

Well Hands up I was misinformed. James "the Cock" Allen is back in F1 as lead commentatory for the Beeb. :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/

Well, what interested I had in F1 on the beeb has now vanished. Will have to watch it on Sky sports now :-[

Calm down!! The cock is on 5 live not bbc1 according to his web page.

I absolutely LOVE being a Sky subscriber :)

So do I this time of year, plenty of coverage of the Dakar Rally over on Eurosport ;) ;D