Month: July 2023

ITV pulls live 2023 British MotoGP broadcast from schedules

ITV will no longer air the 2023 British MotoGP round live after dropping coverage from their schedules, Motorsport Broadcasting has learnt.

The race weekend, scheduled at Silverstone from August 4th to 6th, would have been ITV’s third consecutive year airing the British Grand Prix live.

Under their existing agreement with Dorna, the free-to-air broadcaster airs highlights of the series on ITV4, along with live coverage of two race weekends (Sprint and the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP races).

Previously, it was assumed, much like Sky’s contract with F1 (where the British GP airs live and free-to-air), that ITV must air the British round live on ITV1.

A press release from the commercial broadcaster last month stated that coverage of both the Italian and British rounds would air live.

The Italian round aired on ITV1 on June 11th, with the British round expected to air on ITV1 on August 6th, both races a simulcast of the coverage produced by pay TV rights holder BT/TNT Sports.

However, the latter will no longer air live on ITV1, and will now be covered in highlights form akin to the other 18 rounds on ITV4 on Monday evening. Instead, ITV1 will air the season finale in Valencia on November 26th live, the broadcaster has confirmed to this site.

“Due to competition in ITV’s schedule, we will be showing highlights of the Silverstone MotoGP round but plan to show full live coverage of the season finale in Valencia,” a statement read.

A disappointing scenario

The decision by ITV not to air the British MotoGP this year is disappointing, especially considering the broadcaster’s commitment to airing the race live less than two months ago.

The broadcaster’s coverage increased in 2021 in an attempt to increase the visibility of the series in the UK, supported by stakeholders, including Silverstone.

Silverstone’s Managing Director Stuart Pringle recognises that MotoGP faces issues in the UK, which in turn impacts attendances for the race weekend.

Speaking to Autosport recently, Pringle said “There is no question at all that the visibility of MotoGP in the UK is really poor.”

“That starts with television, and indeed free-to-air made people’s awareness of the sport far greater. That in turn has dropped off the broadsheets and the tabloids in that time as well. So, the whole thing, the whole visibility piece is the fundamental problem.”

Pringle, Dorna, or TNT Sports are likely to be unimpressed by ITV’s attitude towards MotoGP, especially at the eleventh hour. However, did ITV have any choice in the matter? Perhaps.

In mid-June, ITV announced that they had secured the rights to air the FA Community Shield match between Arsenal and Manchester City on Sunday 6th August. The match was initially set to kick off at 17:30, but was brought forward to 16:00, with the programme starting at 15:15 on ITV1.

During the same weekend is the football Women’s World Cup round of 16 matches (with the matches starting at 03:00 and 10:00, one of which will be on ITV), while ITV also holds the rights to the Glorious Goodwood and Sky Bet Sunday Series horse racing events.

If the football goes into extra time and penalties the MotoGP race, which starts at 13:00, would have faced being bumped off ITV1 and onto ITV3 or ITV4.

MotoGP could have pushed the race back to fit in between both football matches, similar to how the Royal Ascot forward due to the FA Cup final.

It is likely that ITV made the call on that basis, to cover MotoGP on a weekend where their sporting schedule is less congested than during the British MotoGP weekend. The MotoGP weekend itself moved from a Bank Holiday August slot to an early August slot in 2022.

The decision to air Valencia live means that live MotoGP free to air coverage will clash with the latter stages of the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi. With the F1 race likely to be a dead rubber, this could work in ITV’s favour if the MotoGP championship goes down to the wire, although as of writing this is an outside possibility.

Live coverage of the full British Grand Prix weekend begins on Friday 4th August, with practice airing on TNT Sports 2 from 09:00.

Updated on July 28th with further details.

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F1 to remain on Channel 4 until 2026

Channel 4 will continue to broadcast Formula 1 highlights until the end of 2026 after agreeing to an extension with Sky Sports.

As part of Sky’s arrangements with F1, the pay TV broadcaster must make certain aspects of the Grand Prix season available on a free-to-air basis.

Sky has chosen to extend its partnership with Channel 4, now covering the 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons.

The free-to-air broadcaster will air live coverage of the British Grand Prix weekend, as well as highlights of every qualifying session, sprint, and Grand Prix over the next three seasons.

Channel 4’s Chief Executive Alex Mahon said “We’re thrilled to have struck another Formula 1 deal with Sky and are delighted to once again bring UK audiences Formula One for free.”

“The partnership between Channel 4 and Sky benefits the British public and allows everyone to get into the sport and brings in new fans and ensures Formula 1 gets much wider reach and prominence with British audiences.”

“Just like British audiences I love that unique Formula One combination of engineering technology, personal humanity, glittering glamour and unbelievable race tension.”

Stephen van Rooyen, CEO Sky UK & Ireland said “Together with Channel 4 we’ve shared some of the most iconic moments in sporting history and our relationship is as strong as ever.”

“The length and nature of this deal shows Sky’s deep commitment to help increase the reach of Formula 1 and continue to support one of the most exhilarating, and fastest growing sports in the world.”

Whisper produces Channel 4’s F1 offering, their existing agreement running until the end of this season. Steve Jones and Lee McKenzie present their output, alongside analysts such as David Coulthard, Mark Webber, and Alice Powell,. Alex Jacques leads the commentary in collaboration with F1 TV.

FTA broadcaster extends arrangement despite tightening purses

Channel 4’s Formula 1 audience has been declining in recent years, with the majority of the Grand Prix fanbase now consuming the sport that they love through Sky.

As the jointly issued press release notes, Sky’s audience has surged in recent years, with 2022 being the most-watched season ever on Sky, experiencing a 49% increase compared to when Sky first began exclusively broadcasting live F1 in 2019.

Sky has also seen an increase in younger audiences, with 28% of viewership now coming from those under 35, compared with 20% in the previous year. However, while Sky has benefited from Drive to Survive, Channel 4 has not.

According to consolidated audience data published by industry website Thinkbox, highlights of the Austrian Grand Prix averaged 1.21 million viewers, a decrease of half a million viewers compared with 2019. Overall, Channel 4’s highlights programme has gradually declined in viewership since 2019.

In recent months, Channel 4 has faced financial constraints due to persistent inflation and the cost of living crisis, with shows such as Naked Attraction, Four Weddings, and The Last Leg impacted.

Despite this, the latest extension between Channel 4 and Sky indicates that sports programming has been unaffected. However, neither party has revealed the financial terms of the latest deal.

It remains crucial to maintain a free-to-air path for F1 moving forward, even if free-to-air audiences are declining. This ensures that an open option is available in the future for championship showdowns or other scenarios to air live.

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