Author: David Nelson

German free-to-air broadcaster RTL to exit F1 contract at end of 2020

RTL will cease broadcasting Formula 1 live at the end of the season, the German broadcaster has announced.

The broadcaster first showed live races between 1984 and 1988 and has done so continuously from 1991. In 2017 it renewed its deal with F1 to continue broadcasting until 2020.

Financial reasons lie behind the decision. In a statement, RTL’s Head of Sport, Manfred Loppe, announced on Sunday “When you have competitors in the game who are prepared to offer double as much as you can then you are forced into a position of having to withdraw.”

Loppe stressed that RTL “still obviously wants to try in the future to present attractive sporting events to our viewers. But it is clear that economic limits will play a role, as well as the changing competitive environment.”

“We have broadcast Formula 1 for over three decades with great love and passion, as well as with a plucky readiness for innovation and investment,” Loppe continued. “RTL will forever be associated with the most widely viewed, most emotional, unforgotten moments in the top motor racing series.”

In Germany viewers have had two choices for watching F1: either to pay a subscription to watch uninterrupted coverage on Sky or to watch free-to-air coverage on RTL with advert breaks.

Figures from Motorsport.com show that a peak of 5.26 million viewers tuned into RTL’s coverage of the Italian Grand Prix last year (a market share of 32.3%), whilst a further 450,000 viewers watched on Sky (2.8%). Over the course of the whole of last season RTL was able to secure average viewing figures of just over 4 million viewers.

The managing director of RTL, Jörg Graf, added “Competition for TV rights has changed and the market has in part overheated. As such it has extended beyond our ambitious, but at the same time economically justifiable, limits.”

In January 2020 the company announced it was expanding its football coverage by signing an agreement with UEFA to broadcast the Europa League and the newly created UEFA Europa Conference League from 2021.

Graf confirms that this is where focus for the broadcaster will now lie. “We will now with our power, passion and joy concentrate on football as our number one sport,” he said.

It remains unclear whether Germans will have access to free-to-air coverage going into the 2021 season or whether F1 will consider a model like the UK currently has, with all races airing live on pay TV, and the home race live on a free-to-air channel.

As Motorsport Broadcasting speculated in March, following an interview with RTL’s anchor Florian König, it remained unclear, especially in the current climate, whether RTL would extend its deal.

Today’s decision therefore does not come as a total surprise and is indicative of the changing F1 broadcasting landscape. König, long-standing pit-lane reporter Kai Ebel and the lead commentator Heiko Wasser have yet to react to the news as they now enter their final season of broadcasting live races for the Cologne company.

Analysis – RTL’s decision gives us an insight into the road ahead
Any broadcaster opting not to renew a contract after 30 years is always a big story, and RTL’s decision to not renew their F1 contract falls into that category.

It is, however, not a major surprise.

Interest in Formula 1 in Germany has gradually declined since Michael Schumacher’s heyday in the mid-2000s, although viewing figures remained strong during Sebastian Vettel’s four championship victories.

Now, with Vettel heading out of Ferrari at the end of 2020, there is a distinct possibility that there will be no German drivers on the F1 grid in 2021.

Combine this with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic presents the perfect storm. RTL, like all free-to-air broadcasters worldwide, will be looking to save money as advertising revenues slump.

The situation is like the one UK broadcaster ITV found themselves in back in 2008. ITV needed to save money following the worldwide financial crisis at that time, and prioritised football over F1, executing a get out clause in the latter’s contract.

RTL’s contract to broadcast F1 is expiring anyway at the end of this year, but the overall business direction from both is identical.

The COVID-19 pandemic means that, in my view, we are likely to see more pay TV deals moving forward. The motor sport industry right now needs money pumping into it, more than ever before, and the crisis has exasperated problems the industry had prior to the pandemic.

Free-to-air and five million viewers will only get you so far. Ask MotoGP for another UK equivalent.

In 2013, the series was struggling with Moto2 and Moto3. Faced with a choice, they brought pay TV broadcaster BT Sport into the fold, who outbid the BBC significantly in acquiring the UK television rights.

MotoGP went with BT Sport. Yes, the fans at the time may not have liked the decision (including me), but that move ensured many Moto2 and Moto3 teams could continue racing to ensure the wider eco system did not collapse.

The optics may not be as severe here, but fans should be prepared for a further move away from free-to-air, not towards as motor sport fights against COVID-19.

There is not one specific reason RTL has opted not to extend its F1 deal. But one thing is for sure: 2020 will mark the end of an era for F1 broadcasting in Germany.

Reporting by Edmund Wareham; analysis by David Nelson.

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Sky Sports to present F1 coverage on location as FIA sets out ‘Return to Motor Sport’ guidance for media

Sky Sports will present coverage of the upcoming 2020 Formula One season on-site, multiple on-air personalities have confirmed.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic presented questions as to whether broadcaster such as Sky would present coverage on-site.

Writing on Twitter earlier this week, Sky’s F1 presenter Simon Lazenby confirmed Sky’s plans.

“For those asking, Sky Sports F1 will be on site in Austria, hoping to bring you as close to the action as we possibly can. It’s been a long wait,” he said.

In addition, speaking on The Notebook, Ted Kravitz noted the news separately.

Sky have yet to formally confirm their coverage plans, either through their website or to Motorsport Broadcasting separately.

Last week, this site confirmed that Channel 4 will present the opening phase of the new season from a location in the UK.

Fewer journalists on-site…
Elsewhere, the FIA have set out their recommendations for all working at the race track during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the considerations for media working the event.

The organisation recommends “a separation of two meters between individuals” in areas of the paddock where this is possible.

A key theme throughout the media guidance is that the governing body suggests that media outlets work remotely where feasible.

The FIA recommends that host broadcasters only bring talent who are “essential to the delivery of the TV broadcast” to the circuit, with all other aspects of the broadcast produced remotely.

On the media front, the FIA suggests that a small group of media agencies, covering the largest audience reach, work together to produce interviews, making content available to journalists who are off-site.

The guidance does not name specific media outlets given that each championship has its own set of stakeholders and reach, but the FIA has designed their guidelines to encompass all entities.

…and the end of the media pen
The media pen interviews that are commonplace across motor sport are likely over, for now.

Instead, the governing body recommends replacing the media pen and group interviews with pooled unilateral TV interviews, held in a centralised space within the paddock and distributed to all outlets.

However, the post-qualifying and post-race press conferences for the top three drivers remain, but floor space replaced “with spaces adhering to social distance guidelines,” similar in layout to how the UK government currently conducts its current daily briefing.

Clearly, these changes mean that there will be less on offer in terms of supplementary content across the board, but it is a necessary price as motor sport returns to action.

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Channel 4 to present opening phase of 2020 F1 season ‘off-site’

Channel 4 will present the opening phases of the 2020 Formula One season from the UK, Motorsport Broadcasting has learnt.

The season was due to start with the Australian Grand Prix back in March, but the opening weekend failed to get going after a member of the McLaren team tested positive for COVID-19 and the pandemic took hold.

Now, the season is set to begin with a double-header in Austria on July 5th and July 12th, with all eight European races announced so far taking place behind closed doors.

As part of the announcement, F1 stated that there would be around 1,200 essential personnel on-site for each event, with 60 broadcast personnel also there.

The position in relation to every media outlet is unclear, however this site can confirm that UK free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4 will not be travelling to the opening races.

Instead, production partner Whisper will produce Channel 4’s F1 highlights offering from a location to be determined within the UK, with the team situated together in a studio-based setting.

The 2020 F1 calendar – at a glance
July 5th – Austria
July 12th – Styria
July 19th – Hungary
August 2nd – Britain
August 9th – 70th Anniversary
August 16th – Spain
August 30th– Belgium
September 6th – Italy

Steve Jones will continue to present Channel 4’s coverage, with the likes of Ben Edwards, Billy Monger, David Coulthard, Mark Webber and Lee McKenzie alongside him to offer insight and analysis.

Speaking to this site, a Whisper spokesperson said “We can’t wait for F1 racing to return, so we can bring that excitement to our passionate F1 audience, who have waited since November to see cars on track.

“We want to get back on-site as soon as we can, but only when it’s safe to do so. F1 have done a remarkable job in restarting the season and we want to support them in every way possible.”

As revealed earlier this year, Channel 4 will air ‘extended highlights’ this season, the free-to-air broadcaster airing around 75 percent of the race, a substantial increase on last year’s figure.

However, the broadcaster will not air live coverage of the 70th anniversary race from Silverstone on August 9th, that race airing live on Sky Sports.

As Motorsport Broadcasting confirmed last month, Channel 4’s broadcast rights only allow them to air live coverage of the event given the ‘British Grand Prix’ title, which is currently the race scheduled for August 2nd.

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Scheduling: The 2020 MotoAmerica and IndyCar season openers

After a two-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, motor racing is back! Over the next few weeks, the schedules will begin to fill back up with live motor racing action taking place from across the globe.

Kicking us back into action are two stateside championships: MotoAmerica and the IndyCar Series. MotoAmerica is the American equivalent of the British Superbikes championship, with ten race weekends featuring on the revised 2020 calendar.

This weekend’s MotoAmerica race (30th and 31st May) is the first of two stops for the series at the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, with both races airing live on Eurosport for UK viewers.

One week later, the IndyCar Series begins its 2020 tour at the Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday 6th June. For the first time ever, in addition to qualifying and the race, practice also airs live for UK fans on Sky Sports F1.

Elsewhere, there is a plethora of new programming on Sky Sports F1 and BT Sport, whilst there is plenty of Esports action also on offer. RaceFans has a complete list of the Esports events taking place this weekend.

Of interest also to UK readers is the fact that Formula E documentary film ‘And We Go Green‘ premieres on Channel 4 on Tuesday 2nd June at 00:05 (Wednesday morning).

IndyCar Series – Texas (Sky Sports F1, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Mix)
06/06 – 18:30 to 20:00 – Practice
06/06 – 22:00 to 23:00 – Qualifying
06/06 (Saturday night) – 00:30 to 04:00 – Race (Main Event and Mix from 01:00)

MotoAmerica – Road America (Eurosport)
30/05 – 20:00 to 22:00 – Day 1
31/05 – 19:00 to 21:00 – Day 2

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Scott Young to step down as Sky’s Head of F1

Scott Young is to leave his role as Sky’s Head of Formula 1 after a three year stint with the broadcaster, Motorsport Broadcasting can reveal.

The Australian was a major part of motor sport broadcasting down under for three decades, playing a pivotal role in the V8 Supercars offering at the time.

Young joined Sky following the retirement of Martin Turner in late 2017. Since then, Young has helped Sky navigate the past two Formula 1 seasons, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

At times, Young’s decision making has attracted criticism, however under Young’s leadership, Sky have also brought the likes of 2009 Drivers’ Champion Jenson Button and Karun Chandhok into the F1 line-up.

I understand that Young is to leave Sky following the conclusion of the European season. Whether Young has opted to return to Australia, or move to another company within the F1 sphere, is currently unclear.

Relationship between F1 and Sky
Speaking publicly at the Black Book Motorsport Forum last August, Young denied suggestions that Sky’s relationship with F1 had become ‘strained’ in recent times.

At the time, Young said, “The relationship hasn’t improved because they have not strained,” Young said. “We have an extraordinary relationship with every aspect within Formula 1, including the 10 teams and the 20 drivers. And without that relationship we can’t create a narrative.”

“There’s a daily dialogue that goes back and forth between Sky Sports Formula 1 and the team at Biggin Hill, at a granular level of making television, and the team at St James’s Market on an executive level,” he added.

“Whenever they call us seeking content that they like, we always share it. They’re always very good in providing us content or footage that we need to produce our story.”

Since then, the two parties have been working together on a film to commemorate F1’s 70th anniversary.

Sources suggest this has not gone as well as anticipated, evidenced by the lack of reference to the documentary by F1 themselves across social media, with only a passing mention on Sky’s own social feeds.

Update on May 31st at 16:25 – In response to a request for comment from Motorsport Broadcasting, Sky Sports Managing Director Rob Webster said “Scott Young has made a huge impact on our F1 coverage and helped drive the team forward since joining at the start of 2018.”

“He will be with us to lead the F1 team through the restart of the season and through the European races before moving on to a new challenge. He goes with our best wishes and thanks for everything he has done during three seasons of F1.”

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