ITV4 will continue to broadcast MotoGP highlights during the 2015 season, The F1 Broadcasting Blog can confirm.
The channel began broadcasting MotoGP highlights last season. This followed the announcement that BT Sport were going to broadcast every race exclusively live through to and including 2018, ending the BBC’s and British Eurosport’s involvement in covering the series. Analysis half way through the 2014 season showed that viewing figures had halved year-on-year as a result of the new deal.
The news that ITV will continue to cover highlights is good for readers who do not have access to BT Sport and wish to continue following MotoGP. In a statement to The F1 Broadcasting Blog, ITV confirmed that they are showing “both the Motorsport UK [weekly round-up programme] and the MotoGP coverage.”
I will update this post if any further details come through from ITV, and also with the Qatar scheduling details nearer to March.
David, is there a direct email address for ITV4?
I suspect that many disappointed MotoGP fans would like to encourage a better, more extensive highlights program, now that Dorna’s money-grubbing policy has placed proper race coverage behind a Pay Wall.
Seems to me that this is a golden opportunity for ITV4 to win over a huge number of viewers who are frustrated by lack of comprehensive free-to-air broadcasting of MotoGP.
No, I use this: http://www.itv.com/viewerservices