Your Formula 1 2015 television viewing habits revealed

Over 200 blog readers in the past two months have given their thoughts on how they have consumed Formula 1 both so far this season, and also in 2014. The findings are not meant to be representative of the entire population, but merely a snapshot of what readers of this blog think. The survey was uploaded to the blog in early May, with readers adding their thoughts and comments until the beginning of June.

The main comment from the outset is that the number of respondents year-on-year dropped from 353 respondents last year to 201 respondents this year. There are multiple reasons for the drop in responses from a blog perspective. 2015 has been a quieter year on the motor sport broadcasting front and I have had more real life commitments in the first half of the year, meaning that in turn the blog has been getting less hits, hence the survey getting less responses compared with last year. Which is fine, as I mention above, the survey is meant to be treated as a ‘blog snapshot’ rather than anything more.

General Conclusions
– 17 percent of readers have changed their viewing habits between 2014 and 2015
– 56 percent of readers are aged 35 and under
– Consumption of races has decreased

For the first time since I started this survey, I asked readers for their age and gender and it was interesting to see the responses. Unsurprisingly, the majority of people who completed the survey are aged between 16 and 34, this amounted for 52 percent of the responses. It is interesting, because one assumes that there is a similar demographic split on the majority of motor sport websites. I call it interesting as TV viewing typically skews old, such as BBC’s British Grand Prix coverage which probably had an average age in the late 40’s. But the difference in skew is not surprising given the rise of social media.

Overall, 17 percent of readers have changed their viewing year-on-year, compared with 20 percent in 2013 and an almost identical percentage versus the survey that I did on the blog this time last year. 17 percent is a typical number and no bigger or smaller than expected.

Audience trends
– Blog readers tune out of F1 coverage
– BBC TV and Sky Sports feel the brunt with drops

There is only one real trend here. Year-on-year, blog readers are watching less Formula 1 action, irrespective of whether the race is exclusively live on Sky, or whether live coverage is being shared with the BBC. The raw drops vary depending on what you compare. The lowest drop of 2 percent is when you compare BBC’s race highlights year-on-year, compared with a 7 percent drop for Sky’s exclusively live coverage. A few comments from blog readers in the PDF attached at the bottom of this post allude to the fact that, over the years from 2012, they are less inclined to watch the highlights programming as they do not feel as attached to the coverage as previously.

Interestingly, for those readers that have the choice, just over two out of three people watch Sky’s coverage all year around, preferring them to BBC’s coverage.

Change versus 2014
Looking at whether people are more or less likely to view BBC and Sky this year, it appears that there has been a slight swing of around two to three percent away from Sky and towards the BBC. In the context of the number of responses, we are talking about four or five people that would have swung it the other way. Examining the comments made, and the usual topics crop up, notably Sky’s pricing again, although there is clearly a divide between those who love Sky’s coverage and those who hate Sky’s coverage.

As I said at the beginning, the survey is by no means definitive, but is there to just give a snapshot of the picture from my blog readers. This post is just my reading of the results, however for full disclosure the survey results are below. Like last year, the comments as well as the survey results are worth a read. There were not as many comments as last year due to the smaller results size, but I’ve picked out around 30 comments which I thought were worth a read, and in my view clearly show the vast range of opinions that blog readers have concerning F1 broadcasting.

The full survey results can be found here, and a selection of detailed comments from a variety of readers can be found here.

British Grand Prix peaks with 5.9 million

Lewis Hamilton’s victory in the rain-affected British Grand Prix peaked with 5.9 million viewers yesterday, overnight viewing figures show.

Race
The first disclaimer before outlining the figures is that there are no comparisons to 2012 and 2014, because both of those years clashed with Wimbledon and rated significantly lower than yesterday. The only valid comparison of recent years under the current contract is with the 2013 race.

BBC One’s live coverage of the race, which aired from 12:15 to 15:30, averaged 3.63m (34.2%), peaking with 4.93m (42.4%) at 14:30 as Hamilton sealed victory. Both of those numbers are down on 2013’s race, which featured Pirelli’s punctures and Nico Rosberg’s victory. 2013’s programme on BBC One from 12:10 to 15:30 averaged 3.72m (35.3%), peaking with 5.12m (43.7%), also at 14:30. Neither of the drops are significant, around 3 to 4 percent, but noticeable nevertheless for BBC’s coverage.

On both average and peak, BBC was down between 100k and 200k versus 2013, with Sky benefiting as a result. Live coverage on Sky Sports F1 averaged 530k (5.0%) from 12:00 to 15:30, with a further 114k (1.0%) watching on Sky Sports 1. The combined average of 646k (6.1%) and combined peak of 920k (7.9%) are both up on Sky’s 2013 average of 567k (5.4%) and peak of 860k (7.3%) – although the raw Sky Sports F1 channel numbers are down if you choose not to include Sky Sports 1’s numbers in the calculations.

Overall, the combined audience across BBC and Sky’s output of 4.28 million is down very marginally on 2013’s audience of 4.29 million, the percentage difference between the two numbers is 0.29 percent, so we are talking thousands here. There is a bigger difference for the peak. 2013’s race peaked with 5.98 million, compared with 5.85 million yesterday, a bigger drop of 2.2 percent. Again, we’re not talking a huge drop, but it should be re-iterated that the figures are a far cry from what the British Grand Prix managed in 2010 and 2011, when the race peaked with nearly 7 million viewers.

The 2014 British Grand Prix ratings report can be found here.

Dramatic Formula E decider peaks with 1.2 million

The final two races of the Formula E season performed solidly on both ITV and ITV4 across this past weekend, overnight viewing figures show.

Saturday
Live coverage of round ten was broadcast live on ITV4 on Saturday. Qualifying, which aired from 11:30 to 13:15, averaged 146k (1.5%), peaking with 184k (3.1%) at 12:35. Up until that point, it was the most watched qualifying programme for the sessions that ITV4 had covered live. In fact, the peak number for London’s Saturday qualifying session was higher than the peak number recorded for the Moscow race three weeks earlier, showing that it was a strong number in isolation.

ITV4’s live race coverage aired from 15:00 to 17:30. The programme averaged 274k (3.7%), peaking with 460k (5.7%). The peak, up until that point again, was the strongest since Beijing which peaked with 477k (6.8%). Against a backdrop of mediocre ratings over the past few months, this was a much needed strong figure. I also think this underlines how well the previous European races could have done had they not clashed with Formula 1.

The highlights programme on ITV, which aired from 22:55 to 23:55, averaged 387k (3.6%). You could argue that it is higher than the ITV4 race programme, therefore it is a better figure, however in reality, that figure is very poor for ITV, a picture which is unfortunately the same for Sunday’s highlights programme.

Sunday
Due to the British Touring Car Championship on ITV4, and presumably also ITV wanting to give Formula E a bit of extra coverage, programming was switched to ITV for Sunday’s qualifying and race, which formed the final round of the season. Live coverage of the race, airing on ITV from 15:00 to 17:45, averaged 700k (6.7%). The race peaked with 1.18m (10.7%) at 16:50 as Nelson Piquet Jnr won the championship.

Live coverage of the race began with 406k (4.6%) at 15:00, growing to 811k (8.3%) as the race started at 16:00. It crossed the million barrier at 16:25, remaining above a million until the race concluded. The programme itself did not win the slot, but this was due to the long pre and post-race analysis rather than the race itself under-performing. Live coverage of qualifying on ITV from 11:30 to 13:15 averaged 395k (4.9%), peaking with 503k (5.9%). Not great. Repeats of The Jeremy Kyle Show on the channel generated a higher audience in the equivalent timeslot on Saturday. However, purely because of the ‘ITV factor’, qualifying and the race will stand as record high numbers for the series.

Sunday’s highlights programme, which aired from 22:20 to 23:20, averaged 454k (3.3%). Again, it is not a great audience for the channel. Over on ITV4, live coverage of the British Touring Car Championship averaged 263k (2.8%) from 11:00 to 18:15, peaking with 460k.

Analysis
For Formula E, the numbers are brilliant, in that they are significantly higher than previous rounds, and further cement the case for the championship to be shown on ITV’s main channel. Of course, that works on the assumption that Formula E want to keep working with ITV. Given that the top headline currently on Formula E’s website surrounds yesterday’s viewing figures in the UK, one has to assume that Formula E do not plan to take he championship off free-to-air television. The two questions surround the nature of the deal from a scheduling perspective, but also whether ITV are willing to pay any cash for it. Do ITV see more value in the series after season one, and are they therefore willing to hand over money as a result. I don’t think Formula E has everything their own way, yet.

From a slot average perspective, the numbers on ITV’s main channel did not exceed the slot average. Does that make the live numbers disappointing? No. Yeah, they’re solid for ITV, no more, no less. I doubt it made ITV’s executives go “wow” when they saw the overnights this morning. However, I would argue that if Formula E can peak with 1.2 million viewers for a championship decider at the end of its inaugural season, then what can do it do in a year’s time, with perhaps more airtime and advertising on ITV’s main channel? Interest is only going to grow over time. That 1.2 million peak could be 2 million twelve months from now.

This requires commitment from both sides. I think logical progression from both sides would be to retain the current deal, but air the opening race of the 2015-16 season on ITV, along with two or three other races (the calendar hasn’t yet been released, so it is impossible to say which ones), with ITV committing to an on-site presence for those races. I think having every race live on ITV’s main channel could do more harm than good. I’ll elaborate on the above in a future post, but let’s keep things moving naturally rather than committing to anything too big, too soon.

But, first and foremost, we need an announcement about season two’s rights. So ITV and Formula E. What are you waiting for?

Scheduling: The 2015 British Grand Prix

The 2015 Formula One season creeps towards the halfway stage, with the British Grand Prix! There are two races in the next seven weeks, thanks to the demise of the German Grand Prix. The good news for those without Sky Sports is that the next three races will be broadcast live on the BBC, as confirmed to this blog earlier in the year, which is a rare occurrence as races don’t tend to be axed after the season has started.

Expect both BBC and Sky to be out in full force next weekend line-up wise. From the BBC’s perspective, they are broadcasting a 90 minute preview show on BBC Radio 5 Live in the run-up to Silverstone. However, due to Wimbledon, Friday’s practice sessions will air behind the Red Button, whilst qualifying will air on BBC Two. Thankfully, the race itself will air live on BBC One.

Over on Sky Sports, they are producing an extra F1 Show, airing live on Thursday night which is now the norm for Silverstone. Qualifying and the race are again being simulcast on Sky Sports 1 for the second race in a row. It will be interesting to see whether this trend continues after the Summer break when the football season gets going. Elsewhere, Sky are airing 2 x 30 minute shows focussing on the Formula Kart Stars competition, whilst the 1995 British Grand Prix is going to be aired in full. They showed the complete 1995 race a few weeks ago, but at the time I thought it was a scheduling mistake, when in the end they did actually show the full race!

Below are all the scheduling details for the Grand Prix that you need…

BBC F1
BBC TV – Sessions
03/07 – 09:55 to 11:30 – Practice 1 (BBC Red Button)
03/07 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Red Button)
04/07 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Two)
04/07 – 12:10 to 14:30 – Qualifying (BBC Two)
05/07 – 12:15 to 15:30 – Race (BBC One)
05/07 – 15:30 to 16:30 – Forum (BBC Red Button)

BBC Radio – Sessions
03/07 – 09:55 to 11:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
04/07 – 09:55 to 11:00 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
04/07 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live)
05/07 – 12:00 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Supplementary Programming
02/07 – 20:30 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
05/07 – 11:15 to 12:20 – F1 Rewind (BBC Two)
05/07 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Slicks-o-Six (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
03/07 – 09:45 to 12:00 – Practice 1
03/07 – 13:45 to 16:00 – Practice 2
04/07 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
04/07 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (also Sky Sports 1)
05/07 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
02/07 – 15:00 to 15:30 – Driver Press Conference
02/07 – 18:00 to 19:00 – The F1 Show (also Sky Sports 1)
02/07 – 19:00 to 20:00 – Tales from the Vault: Champions
02/07 – 21:00 to 21:15 – Paddock Uncut: Britain
03/07 – 17:00 to 17:45 – Team Press Conference
03/07 – 18:00 to 19:00 – The F1 Show (also Sky Sports 1)
08/07 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report
09/07 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Formula Kart Stars

NEW Classic Races
01/07 – 21:00 to 23:30 – 1995 British Grand Prix

GP2 Series – Britain (Sky Sports F1)
03/07 – 12:00 to 12:50 – Practice
03/07 – 15:50 to 16:30 – Qualifying
04/07 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1
05/07 – 09:15 to 10:30 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Britain (Sky Sports F1)
04/07 – 08:45 to 09:25 – Qualifying
04/07 – 16:15 to 17:15 – Race 1
05/07 – 08:20 to 09:05 – Race 2

As always, if anything changes, I will update the schedule.

Formula E: Your 2014-15 Verdict

After nine months, ten cities and eleven rounds, Nelson Piquet Jnr has been crowned the inaugural Formula E Drivers Champion! It has been a roller-coaster season that started in Beijing last September, swept through cities such as Buenos Aires, Miami and Monaco, before finishing off in Battersea Park for the London ePrix. ITV have just finished their final programme of the inaugural season – potentially their final live Formula E broadcast, given that we do not currently know the destination of season two’s rights.

The first season has come to an end, and as always The F1 Broadcasting Blog wants your opinion on the inaugural season. What did you think? What went well, what did you enjoy about Formula E? Did you enjoy the commentary line-up, along with ITV’s own coverage with Jennie Gow as presenter? And what disappointed you about Formula E’s opening song? What should be changed about Aurora Media’s host broadcast coverage?

As always, your thoughts are welcome, with the best opinions forming part of a new blog post in around a month from now.