BBC dump next weekend’s MotoGP to Red Button

The BBC are to screen MotoGP next weekend behind the Red Button, schedules reveal. I will be honest and say that I’m incredibly unimpressed with this one, especially in their last season of coverage before handing to BT Sport next season. They normally move the Assen race around a bit, but that in my view is fair game as that does clash with Wimbledon and tends to clash with Qualifying for the British Grand Prix in Formula 1. The Saturday schedules are as follows:

Saturday 14th September 2013
BBC One
13:00 – Live Athletics: Great City Games
14:30 to 16:30 – Triathlon: World Championship Series

BBC Two
12:45 – Caribbean Food Made Easy (R)
13:15 – University Challenge (R)
13:45 to 15:40 – EastEnders Omnibus (R)

On BBC Two, repeats take priority over MotoGP. Whether this is a case of they don’t want sport on two BBC channels at the same time, I don’t know. The Sunday schedule is as follows:

Sunday 15th September 2013
BBC One
09:30 – Live Athletics: Great North Run
13:30 – Sunday Politics
14:45 – Bargain Hunt (R)
15:30 to 16:15 – Flog It! (R)

BBC Two
12:15 – Sailing: America’s Cup Highlights
13:00 – Live Triathlon: World Series Final
15:45 – EastEnders Omnibus (R)
16:45 – Athletics: Great North Run Highlights
17:30 to 18:30 – Rugby League: Super League Play Offs

If you drawn a list of sporting priorities at the BBC, you can see from the above where MotoGP falls. Now, of course, they may have took the MotoGP decision based on the fact that they are not screening it live next year. Of course, they did bid for MotoGP next year, but BT Sport out bid them considerably. But it is a thoroughly disappointing decision, especially considering the level of coverage from Silverstone. It is difficult to see what else they could have done, unfortunately something had to give. Sunday Politics I believe has to be on BBC One because of the regional opt-outs which cannot be served on BBC Two.

Furthermore, looking at the schedules, I cannot see any repeat airing for the MotoGP on BBC One or BBC Two, or BBC Three for that matter later on Sunday or Monday. As with Qatar earlier this year, don’t expect British Eurosport to screen it live, either.

Update on September 12th – It turns out that BBC are repeating it on on BBC Two, in the early hours of Monday morning at 00:15 (England/NI), 00:30 (Wales) and 00:45 (Scotland). Thanks to @scott_gamer for the tip.

Predicting the 2014 calendar pick order

The provisional 2014 Formula One calendar has been updated, with the main change being that India is no longer there, which is not a surprise as it is taking a year off in 2014. Korea has also been dropped, with Russia coming in. New Jersey and Mexico were also meant to be coming in, but alas, that is no longer the case. The calendar, provisionally, is therefore as follows:

March 16th – Australia (Melbourne)
March 30th – Malaysia (Sepang)
April 6th – Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 20th – China (Shanghai)
May 11th – Spain (Barcelona)
May 25th – Monaco (Monaco)
June 8th – Canada (Montreal)
June 22nd – Austria (Red Bull Ring)
July 6th – Britain (Silverstone)
July 20th – Germany (Hockenheim)
July 27th – Hungary (Budapest)
August 24th – Belgium (Spa)
September 7th – Italy (Monza)
September 21st – Singapore (Marina Bay)
October 5th – Japan (Suzuka)
October 12th – Russia (Sochi)
October 26th – USA (Circuit of the Americas)
November 2nd – Brazil (Interlagos)
November 16th – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)

Because of the way the BBC and Sky deal works, both sides have to ‘pick’ races. The races that BBC pick will be shown live on BBC One and Sky Sports F1, while the races that Sky pick will be shown exclusively live on Sky Sports F1, with highlights on BBC One. The picks go as follows:

– BBC pick three races (pick 1, 2 and 3)
– Sky pick three races (pick 4, 5 and 6)
– BBC pick one race (pick 7)
– Sky pick one race (pick 8)

This continues until every race has been picked. Next season is provisionally scheduled with nineteen races, which means Sky get the deciding pick, so that they have either half of the total number of races, or “half + 1 race”. Basically here, I’m predicting how the pick orders will go. Last year, there was a bit of free reign with the calendar picks, but next year, we have the football World Cup 2014, which may influence the pick orders. We will come to that later. So, like I did last year, I’m going to start from scratch.

Before I start, I think it’d be a good idea to see how successful I was last year. Last year I got ten out of nineteen right versus the real thing. It is only a bit of fun, and good for discussion too as the calendar moves forward.

BBC pick Britain, Abu Dhabi and Brazil – Frustration here for the BBC, I imagine. As it stands that British Grand Prix will clash with the Wimbledon final, so a move to BBC Two beckons if things do not change! I think the British race will eventually move to June 29th, but as time progresses, that is looking unlikely. Abu Dhabi looks depressingly like it is the last race of the season, so BBC will pick them, along with Brazil. Brazil is a different situation to USA, USA falls slap bang in the middle of primetime, whereas Brazil does not. The above three are set in stone. Therefore Sky pick Monaco, USA (Circuit of the Americas) and Canada. This is where things can get a messy, and where I think Sky won’t pick Australia. Two prime time races again are much bigger for Sky than getting the season opener, BBC having to pick Abu Dhabi leaves a door open like in 2012, therefore I can see Sky getting both USA and Canada.

Now, interestingly, Canada does not clash with next year’s World Cup, as the World Cup does not start until June 12th. Which means BBC could, if Sky did not pick it, screen Canada live (unlike in 2012 when it did clash with the European Championships). The only potential thwart to that plan is if England have a friendly on that Sunday in primetime. I’m not sure BBC would want the F1 to go against an England friendly on ITV. But we shall see what happens. As discussed above, BBC would not want USA. Monaco is the same as this year, as discussed above. Things alternate from here onwards. BBC haven’t screened the season opener since 2011, and I’d be surprised if they go another year without. Meaning BBC pick Australia and Sky pick Malaysia.

Which leaves us in this position:

March 16th – Australia (Melbourne) – BBC
March 30th – Malaysia (Sepang) – Sky
April 6th – Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 20th – China (Shanghai)
May 11th – Spain (Barcelona)
May 25th – Monaco (Monaco) – Sky
June 8th – Canada (Montreal) – Sky
June 22nd – Austria (Red Bull Ring)
July 6th – Britain (Silverstone) – BBC
July 20th – Germany (Hockenheim)
July 27th – Hungary (Budapest)
August 24th – Belgium (Spa)
September 7th – Italy (Monza)
September 21st – Singapore (Marina Bay)
October 5th – Japan (Suzuka)
October 12th – Russia (Sochi)
October 26th – USA (Circuit of the Americas) – Sky
November 2nd – Brazil (Interlagos) – BBC
November 16th – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) – BBC

Moving back to the European races now, and in a reverse of what happened in 2012, BBC pick Italy, Sky pick Belgium. There is not a lot to discuss here, except to make sure that BBC does not have three or more live races one after the other, it must be two at most line a stern – and that applies to Sky exclusivity too. With Sky picking Belgium, BBC pick Hungary and Sky pick Germany. It does mean that BBC viewers go six weeks without live Formula 1, but I can’t see how that can be avoided. Thankfully, the middle of the calendar though is much better balanced than last year. From this point, things alternate, although the only thing I think should be noted is that I can’t see BBC picking Russia in the event that it is dropped (same applies to Korea later). Hence BBC pick Japan and Sky pick Singapore. Also, BBC pick Austria and Sky pick Russia

Which means we are left with this:

March 16th – Australia (Melbourne) – BBC
March 30th – Malaysia (Sepang) – Sky
April 6th – Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 20th – China (Shanghai)
May 11th – Spain (Barcelona)
May 25th – Monaco (Monaco) – Sky
June 8th – Canada (Montreal) – Sky
June 22nd – Austria (Red Bull Ring) – BBC
July 6th – Britain (Silverstone) – BBC
July 20th – Germany (Hockenheim) – Sky
July 27th – Hungary (Budapest) – BBC
August 24th – Belgium (Spa) – Sky
September 7th – Italy (Monza) – BBC
September 21st – Singapore (Marina Bay) – Sky
October 5th – Japan (Suzuka) – BBC
October 12th – Russia (Sochi) – Sky
October 26th – USA (Circuit of the Americas) – Sky
November 2nd – Brazil (Interlagos) – BBC
November 16th – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) – BBC

The remaining races are therefore China, Bahrain and Spain. I cannot see BBC wanting Bahrain live whilst Also, Sky won’t want Spain exclusively as it falls on the last day of the Premier League season. Meaning BBC pick China and Sky pick Bahrain. And Sky pick Spain. Which leaves the final calendar as follows:

March 16th – Australia (Melbourne) – BBC
March 30th – Malaysia (Sepang) – Sky
April 6th – Bahrain (Sakhir) – Sky
April 20th – China (Shanghai) – BBC
May 11th – Spain (Barcelona) – Sky
May 25th – Monaco (Monaco) – Sky
June 8th – Canada (Montreal) – Sky
June 22nd – Austria (Red Bull Ring) – BBC
July 6th – Britain (Silverstone) – BBC
July 20th – Germany (Hockenheim) – Sky
July 27th – Hungary (Budapest) – BBC
August 24th – Belgium (Spa) – Sky
September 7th – Italy (Monza) – BBC
September 21st – Singapore (Marina Bay) – Sky
October 5th – Japan (Suzuka) – BBC
October 12th – Russia (Sochi) – Sky
October 26th – USA (Circuit of the Americas) – Sky
November 2nd – Brazil (Interlagos) – BBC
November 16th – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) – BBC

Bad news! The above would never happen. Why? Sky are not allowed three exclusive races in a row, whilst BBC are not allowed to screen three live races in a row. The only option I can see is to swap Austria and Monaco, so it turns into:

March 16th – Australia (Melbourne) – BBC
March 30th – Malaysia (Sepang) – Sky
April 6th – Bahrain (Sakhir) – Sky
April 20th – China (Shanghai) – BBC
May 11th – Spain (Barcelona) – Sky
May 25th – Monaco (Monaco) – BBC
June 8th – Canada (Montreal) – Sky
June 22nd – Austria (Red Bull Ring) – Sky
July 6th – Britain (Silverstone) – BBC
July 20th – Germany (Hockenheim) – Sky
July 27th – Hungary (Budapest) – BBC
August 24th – Belgium (Spa) – Sky
September 7th – Italy (Monza) – BBC
September 21st – Singapore (Marina Bay) – Sky
October 5th – Japan (Suzuka) – BBC
October 12th – Russia (Sochi) – Sky
October 26th – USA (Circuit of the Americas) – Sky
November 2nd – Brazil (Interlagos) – BBC
November 16th – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) – BBC

Which is now fine! I will update this post periodically like I did last year as the calendar changes. But this is how I imagine the pick order progressing.

Updated on November 28th, 2013.

Belgian Grand Prix ratings around Europe

Whilst The F1 Broadcasting Blog traditionally focusses on the ratings picture in the UK, occasionally, he does like to cast his eye further a field to see what is happening in other places around Europe. Unfortunately, I am unable to find many historical comparisons below, but thought that the figures would still be worth posting. I should note that the figures below are race average figures and not programme averages that I traditionally report for the UK ratings.

Starting off in Germany, Sebastian Vettel’s victory attracted 5.75 million viewers to RTL, with a 34.9 percent share according to Quotenmeter. More impressively perhaps though is that the race attracted a 29.3 percent share in the younger demographics. In Spain, the race itself had 3.69 million viewers, up 601,000 viewers year-on-year perhaps unsurprisingly given that Fernando Alonso was not eliminated on the first bend this year!

GP2 and GP3 averaged 297,000 and 203,000 viewers despite competition from the MotoGP races. Moto2 averaged 819,000, MotoGP averaged 1.76 million and 530,000 by Moto3. In France, the Formula 1 averaged 850,000 (28.0%) on Canal+, a strong figure when you consider that there are no French title contenders just yet. Lastly, over in Belgian, 379,000 viewers and an impressive 42 percent share watched the race.

In order, again race averages:

1) 5.75 million (34.9%) – Germany
2) 4.40 million (41.6%) – United Kingdom
3) 3.69 million (35.5%) – Spain
4) 850,000 (28.0%) – France
5) 379,000 (42.0%) – Belgium

Already those five countries combined average 15 million viewers in total. When factoring in every country, this figure is probably doubled – to about 30 million viewers, pushing up to 40 million viewers per race.

Are Sky going to withdraw F1 channel from old ‘HD Pack’ subscribers this month? [UPDATED]

Please read the update at the bottom of this blog post.

Sky are to remove the Sky Sports F1 channel from the old HD Pack, affecting many of their current subscribers who watch the channel, The F1 Broadcasting Blog can confirm. Following myself pressing the Sky Help Team on Twitter, confirmation was received: “I’ve double checked that as it was news to me as well but the Sky Sports F1™ channel is being removed from the HD pack in September. We realigned the packages back before the start of the F1™ season and as a gesture of good will allowed existing HD Pack subscribers access to it but that comes to an end this month.” An exact date for removal, as of writing, is unknown.

Whilst this was expected to happen at some point as documented on the blog this year, it is still an extremely disappointing move. When the F1 channel launched, it was announced that the channel would be available to Sports or HD Pack subscribers, meaning that if you did not like the other Sky Sports channels, you could still watch the F1 channel via the HD Pack. This was a great option for many people who do not have any interest in football for example and therefore don’t wish to subscribe to the entire Sky Sports portfolio.

In April, Sky decided to make changes to the HD Pack options, and more importantly changed the ‘or’ to ‘and’. If you wanted to watch F1 in high definition you now, from April onwards, had to take the Sports and HD Packs. This raised the price to watch F1 in HD from £381.00 a year to £693.00 a year if you wanted to watch Formula 1 in HD. But at the time, back in April, Sky explicitly said “existing HD subscribers will continue to receive” the channel. Therefore, no one would realistically have to pay an extra £300.00 a year to the sport in HD. Until now. There have been rumours for a while, but it appears only now that things are turning into a reality. As of this month, coincidentally on the same day that Sky implement another set of price rises, those with the old ‘HD Pack’ will find themselves unable to access Sky Sports F1. Again, when exactly in September this will happen, is unclear. It is insanity. It is pricing customers out of the market, plain and simple. Most importantly, it is limiting the ability of the viewing public to enjoy watching Formula 1.

I can’t defend this change, in no way, shape or form. No doubt this is an attempt by Sky to get viewers to subscribe to the Sports Pack, which would lock them out of going over to BT. Again, the consumer loses. And the F1 fan loses, too. As for the viewing figures? Well, Sky’s viewing figures are trickling downwards, and BBC’s are increasing. If that doesn’t send out a powerful message, I don’t know what does. There’s several bad things about more people watching a highlights show, as it means less exposure for those teams who are struggling at the back of the grid, so there is a potential side effect, in my opinion outside of the Sky spectrum. If Sky wanted to make the F1 channel more accessible and affordable to F1 fans, they would change the pricing – drastically. But again, you’ve got more chance of seeing a flying pig. I guess these price increases and channel changes are what happens when you enter an overpriced £3 billion contract…

As always, your reaction below is welcome. When exactly in September will this happen? Your guess is as good as mine. But it appears things will definitely be changing this month. It will be interesting to see whether there is any backlash towards Sky as a result.

Note: The £3 billion mention above refers to the Premier League football contract that Sky and BT Sport have entered into – which is roughly £6 million per game. In comparison, the entire F1 season costs Sky and BBC a combined £55 million approximately.

Update at 14:50 on September 1st – The same Sky Help Team member on Twitter is now saying: “I’ve asked my colleagues here & double checked with people in the know – we cannot find anything to say that the Sky Sports F1™ will be removed from the HD Pack. I’m sorry for the confusion over this but we do not think you will lose the channel. I agree the information we have had for this has not been the best and I apologise for any inconvenience & confusion this has caused 😦 I hadn’t heard about the change but because it was sent in a reply email to a customer I assumed (my bad) that it would be correct. After further research on my part I can find no details on this and double checked with the Sky F1™ Twitter team and they haven’t heard this either. We usually get a heads up because of the volume of customers we interact with on a daily basis and no one here has seen or heard about this. The definitive answer I have is there are no plans to remove the Sky Sports F1™ channel from the HD pack.”

There’s several things that are concerning here. Firstly there is the quite obvious back tracking after the Sky member giving out inaccurate information this morning. Secondly, there are multiple different people quoting Sky e-mails which have been sent within the past week. The first on Wednesday morning, said, and I quote: “Let me firstly explain about our changes to the channels. A decision was made quite a few months ago that F1 would no longer be available through the HD package and would become part of the Sports package. It was agreed at that point, however, that F1 would remain on the HD package until September 2013. I understand that as a result of a change to your package, you have lost the access to the F1 channel prematurely.”

Then a separate person posted on here noting that a telephone conversation with Sky revealed near identical information on Friday morning. So clearly, there is some mis-information that Sky staff are releasing. Obviously there could be the other point that Sky do not want this information in the public domain. Sky never make official statements about these things, which make it incredibly difficult to get a definitive answer. Do I think this is the end of it? I would be surprised. I’m not sure whether Sky’s F1 Twitter team would know any better either, but who knows. It all appears to be a bit of a mess. Let’s see what happens from here onwards, and see if anyone does lose the Sky Sports F1 channel…

And also to finish off, apologies on my behalf too. What I thought was a definitive answer this morning clearly actually was the opposite. An omnishambles, I feel!

Update on September 5th – I have today received the following e-mail from Sky: “We have seen a small number of calls come into the estate looking for clarification on the availability of the Sky Sports F1 HD channel. Over the weekend various social media sites and forums were circulating rumours regarding legacy HD subscribers losing access to the popular sports channel. Although new subscribers must take Sky Sports to access the channel anybody that subscribed to HD prior to the launch of EE+ still continues to access the channel unless they decrease their HD package.”

The statement continued: “For clarity there is no plans to change this and Legacy HD subscribers will continue to receive this perk providing they don’t apply a cancellation to the HD mix.”

Update on February 4th, 2016 – Good news! If you want SkyQ, you can have it and keep the legacy HD Pack.