Sky Sports F1 – Top 10 ratings (week ending 8th July, 2012)

From BARB:

1 – 455k – Live British Grand Prix (Sunday, 11:00)
2 – 336k – Live British Grand Prix: Qualifying (Saturday, 12:00)
3 – 160k – Live British Grand Prix: Practice 3 (Saturday, 09:45)
4 – 122k – GP Classics: 1964 European Grand Prix (Saturday, 11:19)
5 – 97k – Live British Grand Prix: Practice 1 (Friday, 09:45)
6 – 78k – The F1 Show (Friday, 20:00)
7 – 72k – British Grand Prix Highlights (Sunday, 19:00)
8 – 72k – Live British Grand Prix: Practice 2 (Friday, 13:45)
9 – 62k – GP Classics: 11th GP D’Europe (Sunday, 10:42)
10 – 54k – Live British Grand Prix: GP2 Sprint Race (Sunday, 09:35)

The main race programme for Sky was notably low, due to their extended build-up, hence the extra half hour dragging down the overall rating. Outside of their live F1 programming, The F1 Show did very well, I think that is their highest rating for The F1 Show during a race weekend. Also noticeable is how well the classic F1 did in between practice three and Qualifying, so definitely some good scheduling there.

Finally, it is pleasing to see the live GP2 Sprint Race making Sky Sports F1’s top 10 for the first time, and only 18,000 viewers behind practice two. The channel reach was 2.506 million this week, which is more significant than usual because it is their highest so far this year when that particular race has been live also on BBC.

On BBC, in the official ratings, 2.03 million watched Qualifying on BBC Two and BBC HD, while 3.29 million watched the race from 12:55 on BBC Two and HD.

The truths and the untruths

The Daily Telegraph have this morning published an article written by Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid with the headline, and I quote “BBC saves £150m in Formula 1 deal with Sky”. How accurate is that? The answer is, not very much.

As I did with the Daily Mail article concerning Simon Lazenby here, and as I did with The Guardian article here, I will dissect the article. As always, there are some parts of the article which are true, and there are some which appears to prove that the writers have not done their research.

The first bug-bear for me is when the article claims that Sky Sports are paying £25 million for Formula 1 and BBC are paying £7 million. Both figures look low, especially when you consider that the figure totals £32 million. Let us go back to 2008. According to Ofcom, between 1997 and 2001, ITV paid £14 million per year for Formula 1. That increased to £19 million between 2002 and 2005, before increasing again (this time by £10 million) to £29 million between 2006 and 2010. Of course, they pulled out during 2008, with BBC taking over for 2009. Now, if you are suggesting that BBC did not pay substantially more than £29 million between 2009 and 2011, then I would be extremely shocked. £40 million was the amount I believed BBC to be paying, which is supported by a Google search with multiple level sources reporting the same amount.

So to suggest that BBC and Sky combined are paying £8 million less per year, is a bit optimistic. If anything, the £40 million amount would have risen somewhat, we all know how Bernie Ecclestone likes to increase the contract value at any given opportunity, hence why ITV’s Formula 1 contract went up by £10 million per year despite zero competition. I would have a stab and say Sky Sports are paying £40 million, with BBC paying £10 million. That saving, instead of it being £150 million, comes in at £210 million, a far bigger sum than that in the Daily Telegraph article. If BBC are paying £15 million, for sake of argument, then the saving is £175 million over seven years.

On the other side of the spectrum, the article claims that their was a “£480 annual cost of subscribing to Sky’s sports package”. That is an interesting way of putting things, which works out at £40 per month. The article makes out that £40 is the cheapest way to see Formula 1 on Sky. It is not. Keith Collantine of F1 Fanatic worked out that the cheapest annual cost is £363, while another member on that particular website worked out that if you just wanted to watch the ten Sky exclusive live races it via Sky Go on the computer, it would cost you £175. I would not class the £480 figure as an exaggeration, because it is true, but there are much cheaper ways of watching F1 on Sky than that sum.

“Across the eight Grands Prix which have taken place so far this year, the BBC’s total audience of viewers watching at least 15 minutes has fallen 20.5% to 20.2m which is understandable given that it lost half of the live races. In contrast, F1 has gained as it is understood that 5.5m watched at least 15 minutes of Sky’s broadcasts of the first eight races and this offset the BBC’s drop. In fact, the total audience for the race in Valencia was 8% up on 2011.”

I’m afraid that can only be described as spin. The figures quoted there as reach figures, and it is impossible for the reader to know how many of the 5.5 million are bundled into the 20.2 million figure. I’ve watched the majority of Sky’s programming, but also watched the British Grand Prix on BBC. Does that mean I am two people and therefore bundled into both sets of figures? With regards Valencia, the total audience was up, yes, but on the other hand Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain, Monaco, Canada and Britain were down. Only Valencia and China have recorded increases.

Finally, I’m afraid I do not believe the following is true:

“The deal suits F1 particularly since only a core of die-hard fans watch every race live in full.”

BBC’s viewing figures last year were the highest since 1999, both seasons averaging 4.55 million, which shows that not only die-hard fans were getting into watching every race live, but it was also drawing in a large proportion of casual fans. The lowest rated race last season was Belgium, which had 3.76 million viewers. This year, already four races have had under 3.76 million viewers, and this year looks set to be the lowest rated season since 2008…

An idea for Sky Sports F1 during the Summer break

As many of you will know, after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the F1 circus takes an unprecedented five week break. Normally the Summer break is three or four weeks, but this year, it is five weeks. The Hungarian Grand Prix is on 29th July, with no races through August until the Belgian Grand Prix on 2nd September. What this means is that there is a lot of spare airtime on Sky Sports F1 going spare in August, 31 days as a matter of fact from Monday 30th July to Thursday 30th August.

I can’t imagine there being new programmes on throughout August, there is not much point really. Furthermore, I would expect The F1 Show to come off air on Friday 3rd August, returning on Friday 24th August, unless a big story breaks that justifies having a show on the 10th or 17th August. There’s not much point having a show on either of those dates as the majority of the Formula 1 world is on holiday.

With that in mind, what should Sky Sports F1 do? The answer, for me, is rather simple. A classic season. Not a classic race, no. A classic season, beginning on Monday 13th August. The reason for that start date is so it does not clash with the Olympics. Throughout the Olympics, I would repeat this years’ races in full, on the following dates:

– Australia: Saturday 4th August
– Malaysia: Sunday 5th August
– China: Monday 6th August
– Bahrain: Tuesday 7th August
– Spain: Wednesday 8th August
– Monaco: Thursday 9th August
– Canada: Friday 10th August
– Europe + Britain: Saturday 11th August
– Germany + Hungary: Sunday 12th August

Then, I would repeat a classic season. Maybe let the readers decide via Facebook, Twitter or on the Sky Sports F1 website, with choices from 1990 to 2006. Don’t include 2007 through to 2011, because they are too recent to be considered classics, in my opinion. Putting 1990 to 2006 as poll options means that you are likely to get a genuine classic season as a winner. The schedule would go as follows, assuming 2 hours in length for each. I’m using 1996 as a template, just to give an idea of what it would look like, instead of using generic ‘Round 1’ or ‘Round 2’ terms:

Monday 13th August
20:00 – 1996 Australian Grand Prix (R1)

Tuesday 14th August
18:00 – 1996 Australian Grand Prix (R1 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix (R2)

Wednesday 15th August
18:00 – 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix (R2 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Argentine Grand Prix (R3)

Thursday 16th August
18:00 – 1996 Argentine Grand Prix (R3 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 European Grand Prix (R4)

Friday 17th August
18:00 – 1996 European Grand Prix (R4 – repeat)
20:00 – The F1 Show
21:00 – 1996 San Marino Grand Prix (R5)

Saturday 18th August
13:00 – The F1 Show (repeat)
14:00 – 1996 Australian Grand Prix (R1 – repeat)
16:00 – 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix (R2 – repeat)
18:00 – 1996 Argentine Grand Prix (R3 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (R6)
22:00 – The F1 Show (repeat)

Sunday 19th August
14:00 – 1996 European Grand Prix (R4 – repeat)
16:00 – 1996 San Marino Grand Prix (R5 – repeat)
18:00 – 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (R6 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Spanish Grand Prix (R7)

Monday 20th August
18:00 – 1996 Spanish Grand Prix (R7 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Canadian Grand Prix (R8)

Tuesday 21st August
18:00 – 1996 Canadian Grand Prix (R8 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 French Grand Prix (R9)

Wednesday 22nd August
18:00 – 1996 French Grand Prix (R9 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 British Grand Prix (R10)

Thursday 23rd August
18:00 – 1996 British Grand Prix (R10 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 German Grand Prix (R11)

Friday 24th August
18:00 – 1996 German Grand Prix (R11 – repeat)
20:00 – The F1 Show
21:00 – 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix (R12)

Saturday 25th August
08:00 – The F1 Show (repeat)
09:00 – 1996 Australian Grand Prix (R1 – repeat)
11:00 – 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix (R2 – repeat)
13:00 – 1996 Argentine Grand Prix (R3 – repeat)
15:00 – 1996 European Grand Prix (R4 – repeat)
17:00 – 1996 San Marino Grand Prix (R5 – repeat)
19:00 – 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (R6 – repeat)
21:00 – 1996 Belgian Grand Prix (R13)
23:00 – The F1 Show (repeat)

Sunday 26th August
07:00 – 1996 Spanish Grand Prix (R7 – repeat)
09:00 – 1996 Canadian Grand Prix (R8 – repeat)
11:00 – 1996 French Grand Prix (R9 – repeat)
13:00 – 1996 British Grand Prix (R10 – repeat)
15:00 – 1996 German Grand Prix (R11 – repeat)
17:00 – 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix (R12 – repeat)
19:00 – 1996 Belgian Grand Prix (R13 – repeat)
21:00 – 1996 Italian Grand Prix (R14)
23:00 – The F1 Show (repeat)

Monday 27th August
18:00 – 1996 Italian Grand Prix (R14 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix (R15)
22:00 – The F1 Show (repeat)

Tuesday 28th August
18:00 – 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix (R15 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Japanese Grand Prix (R16)

Wednesday 29th August
16:00 – 1996 Italian Grand Prix (R14 – repeat)
18:00 – 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix (R15 – repeat)
20:00 – 1996 Japanese Grand Prix (R16 – repeat)

Someone will probably complain that the above is horrendously mundane, but it’s just to give you an idea of what it would look like if I was scheduler. Each race gets repeated multiple times, so the viewer can watch it whenever, and the entire schedule is essentially handed over to classic races. For example, above, the 1996 Australian Grand Prix is on four times, while say the 1996 British Grand Prix is on three times. I would also put the Legends shows on at 22:00 each night, for anyone who wants to catch up with that. Of course, the 1996 season I’ve used above is just that – a template, you could do the above with any season, quite frankly.

The classic races, to me, appear such a simple way to fill the schedules, and would definitely be a better way to have the schedules than another repeat of Fast Track or Weekend in Stills. I don’t understand why Sky seem to be ‘cautious’ with screening classic races, it is as if they do want to, to me, especially when you consider the effort BBC went into with their brilliant classic F1 series. As always, your ideas and thoughts are welcome.

UPDATE on 31st July: The F1 Show will continue through August, Sky have confirmed, so the above has been reflected to show that.

Sky open up Sky Sports F1 to all Sky and Virgin Media customers next weekend for free

Sky Sports this morning have announced that all of their channels, including Sky Sports F1, will be available to all Sky and Virgin Media customers next weekend for free.

From 06:00 on Friday 20th July to 23:59 on Sunday 22nd July, if you are with Sky or Virgin Media, you can watch Sky Sports F1 irrespective of what subscription package you have. Therefore, anyone next weekend (assuming you have Sky or Virgin of course!) can watch the German Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1. For everyone concerned, this is great news as it allows more people to sample Sky Sports F1’s programming.

This also includes Sky Sports 1 through to Sky Sports 4, meaning anyone with Sky or Virgin can watch the Indy Car Series live next Sunday from 19:00 on Sky Sports 4.

The full Sky Sports F1 schedule for next weekend is available here.

Scheduling: The German Grand Prix

F1 heads off from Britain to a slightly more drier Hockenheim circuit in Germany. I’ve probably just jinxed it saying that… in any case, this weekend Sky Sports F1 have exclusive live coverage with BBC having highlights only. This also applies for the Hungarian Grand Prix, meaning the next live action for BBC viewers will not come until the Belgian Grand Prix at the very back end of August. The BBC highlights are being shown on BBC Two thanks to the Open Golf Championship on BBC One. If you can’t watch the first showing of the race highlights on Sunday, then they are repeated at 23:40 on BBC One.

On the personnel side of things, the BBC’s Summer line-up changes are back into effect this weekend, this time thanks to the Olympic Games. As I noted a while back, due to Jake Humphrey covering the Olympics for BBC, Lee McKenzie is presenting this weekend’s Grand Prix. With McKenzie presenting, it means that Tom Clarkson steps into her shoes again interviewing drivers.

For Sky, they are screening an extended interview with Jenson Button in the build-up to the race, the schedule times for that can be found here. Sky this weekend have Allan McNish again with them, but I am not sure if Johnny Herbert will be there now that his five race deal has expired. Time shall tell.

As I did with Canada, I’ve added the 5 Live F1 schedule below in italics for those without access to Sky Sports F1. Neither Practice 2 or Practice 3 are on 5 Live or 5 Live Sports Extra, thanks to Golf and Cricket.

UPDATE on 17th July: Sky have confirmed on their website that Anthony Davidson is back with them for the remainder of the season after his horrific crash at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while Johnny Herbert is back with the team. Rachel Brookes of Sky Sports News is replacing Natalie Pinkham for the weekend, the latter is getting married. I’m especially pleased that Brookes is getting a promotion to the Sky Sports F1 channel for the weekend, as I do think her F1 efforts on Sky Sports News do go unnoticed, she has definitely grown as F1 reporter for the channel since February in my opinion.

Thursday 19th July
14:00 to 14:45 – F1: Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)

Friday 20th July
08:45 to 10:55 – F1: Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
08:55 to 10:35 – F1: Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
10:55 to 11:35 – GP2: Practice (Sky Sports F1)
12:45 to 14:45 – F1: Practice 2 (Sky Sports F1)
14:45 to 15:25 – GP2: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
16:00 to 16:45 – F1: Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Saturday 21st July
08:40 to 09:20 – GP3: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
09:45 to 11:10 – F1: Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
12:00 to 14:35 – F1: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
13:00 to 14:05 – F1: Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live)
14:35 to 16:00 – GP2: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
16:15 to 17:05 – GP3: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 18:10 – F1: Qualifying Highlights (BBC Two and BBC HD)

Sunday 22nd July
08:20 to 09:10 – GP3: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
09:30 to 10:35 – GP2: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
11:30 to 16:15 – F1: Race (Sky Sports F1)
13:00 to 14:30 – F1: Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)
17:30 to 19:00 – F1: Race Highlights (BBC Two and BBC HD)
19:00 to 20:00 – F1: Forum (BBC Red Button)
19:00 to 21:30 – IndyCars: Edmonton (Sky Sports 4)