The F1 Show to move to Thursday’s during non-race weeks

The weekly Sky Sports F1 magazine show appears to be on the move, schedules released today show. The edition after the Malaysian Grand Prix is provisionally scheduled for Thursday 28th March at 20:00 live. The show throughout 2012 aired on Friday’s to low ratings.

It is a wise move by Sky to move it to Thursday’s, even last week, for whatever reason their testing ratings had the lowest ratings on the Friday. The other possibility is that they are adding in an extra live show on Friday, but the schedules do not suggest this – all that is in Friday’s 20:00 slot is a repeat of the Thursday F1 Show.

Update on March 13th – Sam O’Sullivan on Twitter points out that Friday 29th March is Good Friday, which may explain why it is not on the Friday. The following weeks schedule have it back in the Friday slot.

Sky’s Classic F1 series to expand into “strands”

Following the announcement that Sky Sports F1 will be showing five Classic F1 races before every round, it appears it will be going beyond that and heading into “strands” of races. In the original piece towards the end of February, I said how there will be five races before every race weekend.

While that is true there will be more than that. The first “strand” will feature debut wins, with schedule times as follows:

Thursday 28th March
21:30 to 23:45 – 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– Fernando Alonso’s first win

Friday 29th March
21:30 to 23:45 – 2007 Canadian Grand Prix
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– Lewis Hamilton’s first win

Saturday 30th March
21:00 to 23:15 – 2009 German Grand Prix
– commentary from Jonathan Legard and Martin Brundle
– Mark Webber’s first win

Sunday 31st March
21:00 to 23:15 – 2008 Italian Grand Prix
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– Sebastian Vettel’s first win

I suspect there may more more on Saturday 30th March and Sunday 31st March. As of writing, schedules do not go that far to reveal what races they are, but given the strand, I expect 2008 Canada and 2008 Italy to both turn up somewhere.

Update on March 28th – I’ve updated the above with the full details now, and some timing changes as well thanks to last weekend’s events in Malaysia. Note that as far as I can see these are not repeated, so record them while you can!

Sky confirm Sky Sports F1 pack changes from April 1st

The F1 Broadcasting Blog can confirm that from April 1st, new customers will need to take the Sports pack in order to view the Sky Sports F1 channel.

In a statement to this blog, Sky said “I can confirm that new HD customers will need to take Sky Sports in order to receive the F1 channel from April 1st, existing HD subscribers will continue to receive it however.”

This change has been rumoured for a while, ever since this post was put on the Sky Views website in mid February. The statement confirms that the change will affect new customers from April 1st, but that existing subscribers remain unaffected. Please note also that this affects Sky only, as far as I know, things will be remaining the same for Virgin Media subscribers.

The move also explains the advertising blitz from Sky concerning Sky Sports F1 and the HD Pack – even going as far as a ‘virtual grandstand’ via @SkyF1Fan on Twitter – in order to try and convert as many people over as possible before April 1st. For those not wishing to take up Sky’s offer, a list of ways of viewing Sky Sports F1, and via the cheapest methods for 2013 is here.

It is not a surprising development, it has to be said, but a disappointing one. Given that existing customers are already locked into the channel though, the change will not directly affect the viewing figures for the channel, and nor will it ‘mysteriously disappear’ from customers’ packages.

Allan McNish confirmed as 5 Live co-commentator

Allan McNish has been named as the new 5 Live co-commentator it has been confirmed today. McNish replaces Jaime Alguersuari in the role, and will be working alongside James Allen and Jennie Gow for the new season. Furthermore, as with last season, the lead commentary role will be shared between Allen and Jonathan Legard, Legard will be making his first appearance in China.

Although McNish has been confirmed, he is only doing six out of 20 races. The coverage on 5 Live will again be produced by USP Content, 2013 will be their eighth season covering the sport. The production itself will be led by Chessie Bent, who succeeds Jason Swales, Swales this season will be producing NBC’s coverage of Formula 1.

Whilst this is a blow to Sky, as I considered McNish a strong member of their team when he appeared last season, I am confused at how he can be announced as 5 Live’s co-commentator when he will be doing less than a third of the season as it stands. It also begs the question of who will be alongside Allen or Legard for the first four races of the season, as that has not been confirmed anywhere today.

Update on March 6th at 16:20 – McNish will be commentating on the Spanish, Monaco, British, German, Belgian and Italian Grand Prix’s. McNish said “I’m very excited with the prospect of being part of the on-event BBC Radio 5 live F1 team this year for what promises to be an intriguing season. While I have been on the show previously, this year will be much more of a consistent format for me.”

Tom Clarkson added to BBC F1 TV team

Tom Clarkson has been added to the BBC’s Formula 1 television team, it has been confirmed today. Clarkson will be a part of the team for the entire season as their pit-lane reporter, working alongside Lee McKenzie and Gary Anderson.

Clarkson was first a member of the BBC team at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix. As the linked article mentions, Clarkson’s credentials include working on TEN Sport’s coverage of Formula 1. Commenting on the announcement at BBC’s press launch today, Ben Gallop, Head of Formula 1 for BBC, said “Everyone on the BBC team is hugely excited about the new season. Last year saw us rise to the challenge of bringing the action to fans through the mix of live television and highlights, delivering great programmes which were reflected in impressive audience figures. 2013 sees new faces, practice on BBC Two and HD on live race weekends and a greater sharing of talent across BBC television, radio and online. With Suzi Perry at the helm, we’re aiming to bring even more content, insight and access to audiences throughout the season.”

For me, adding Clarkson adds significant depth to the BBC’s line-up, with now three reporters roaming the pit-lane. I enjoyed Clarkson’s work with them last year, and hope to see that continue this season.