Author: David Nelson

New Formula 1 logo and enhanced testing coverage coming for 2018

Sky Sports F1’s live coverage of the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice session featured some interesting lines, both from Sky’s F1 team and Formula 1’s chairman Chase Carey. Carey was a guest in Sky’s commentary box for the last 30 minutes of their practice coverage.

Carey, along with Sky F1 commentator David Croft, revealed that a new Formula 1 logo will be unveiled on Sunday, possibly straight after the final race of the 2017 season. Carey said “We want to provide a fresh energy to the sport, we thought the new logo was a great way to emphasise that.”

The current logo, dubbed as ‘flying F1‘ will appear for the final time this weekend. It was first introduced in 1987, and was designed by Carter Wong. The logo was eventually rolled out across the full product by 1994. One half of the team, Phil Carter spoke to graphic design site Seven Feet Apart in the Summer, and said:

“We wanted to capture that energy and excitement of Formula One and we’d been playing around with the ‘F’. Then there was the realisation that with a little bit of manipulation, we had the left half of the one. The lines of speed formed the other half of the one.”

“After 2 or 3 seasons, the marque became established. People now know it and it’s one of the most recognised brand symbols in the world. It doesn’t need changing – it still does exactly what it needs to.”

Liberty Media disagree with that last sentence, and under the Formula One Group guise have logged three new prospective logos with the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO), all of which garnered negative feedback via social media channels. It is unknown which of the three logos will become the official logo, or whether the three logos will serve different purposes. Or, it is possible that we have not yet seen the new logo yet…

Fans have praised Liberty Media this season for their interaction with fans both at the circuit, and on social media. An example of this is via Reddit, where an account controlled by Formula One Management has been asking fans for their opinions on key matters, such as the Safety Car procedure.

Not once, across any medium has discussion turned to a new logo. Has Liberty Media conducted any user research into what a new logo should or should not look like? It feels like the design and implementation of the logo has been completed on a whim without consultation.

Besides the usual corporate jargon, the main reason I imagine is to detach the previous Formula 1 with the current and future Formula 1 from a marketing perspective, and creating a new logo helps in that respect. Personally, I have no problem with creating a new identity, but I do have a problem with a logo that looks amateur and out-of-place for a world-class global brand.

A logo should be memorable and synonymous with what the sport represents. The best option would be to tweaks to the current logo, in my view. If Liberty Media wishes to be transparent and give fans a say, this is not the way to do it. I am willing to be proven wrong, and I still hope the new logo looks better on television than as a still image, but I am unconvinced.

Elsewhere during Sky’s coverage of practice, it was heavily hinted that live coverage of testing will be returning for 2018. Sky’s pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz referred to testing coverage, noting that whilst plans are still to be confirmed, initial ideas are “interesting” and that David Croft is going to be spending time next February and March “standing in a commentary box”. The last time Sky aired testing coverage live was in 2013, as part of their effort to drive attention towards their 3D offering.

The idea of live coverage of testing returning in some form fits in with Formula 1’s plans for an over-the-top service, widely reported recently but not yet officially confirmed. If you want an over-the-top service, you need to produce the content alongside that to draw fans in, and enhanced coverage of testing fits that box. Whilst the phrase “live coverage” was not explicitly stated, you certainly get the impression that is the direction where testing coverage is heading.

Earlier this year, during the 2017 pre-testing season, Formula One Management made an effort to showcase more on-track action via social media, such as on-board footage. The commercial rights holder also lifted a variety of restrictions that were previously in place, allowing teams to film from the paddock and pit lane.

Scheduling: The 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2017 Formula One season concludes, as it has done since 2014, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The race will be notable for being, at least for the moment, the last race without the Halo closed cockpit solution, which comes into force from 2018.

Channel 4 and Sky are airing live coverage of the season finale, with both broadcasters supplementing their usual programming with special shows. Channel 4 have a Guy Martin special, as part of their ‘Rise of the Robots’ season. The episode features, amongst other robotic adventures, Martin challenging the Roboracer to a race around Silverstone. The broadcaster also continues their F1 Meets series, with David Coulthard interviewing Niki Lauda.

Sky will be airing the F1 Esports Final on Saturday evening as 20 racers battle it out to become the inaugural F1 Esports Champion. The event will also stream live across Facebook and Twitch. Sky are also showing a 30-minute behind the scenes special looking at how the Sauber team transports equipment around the world: from Spa to Monza and Singapore. This is an extension of a feature shown during the Singapore weekend, which is great to see.

With the championship battle over, BBC’s coverage is primarily on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra for the second race running.

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
24/11 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1
24/11 – 12:55 to 15:00 – Practice 2
25/11 – 09:55 to 11:25 – Practice 3
25/11 – 11:55 to 14:45 – Qualifying
26/11 – 12:00 to 16:35 – Race
=> 12:00 – Build–Up
=> 12:35 – Race
=> 15:10 – Reaction

Supplementary Programming
25/11 – 11:25 to 11:55 – F1 Meets… Niki Lauda
26/11 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Guy Martin vs the Robot Car

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
24/11 – 08:45 to 11:00 – Practice 1
24/11 – 12:45 to 14:50 – Practice 2 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
25/11 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
25/11 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying
26/11 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race (also Sky Sports Mix)
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
22/11 – 20:00 to 20:30 – F1 Special: The Race Between Races
22/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Preview
23/11 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Driver Press Conference (also Sky Sports Main Event)
23/11 – 17:00 to 17:15 – Paddock Uncut
24/11 – 15:30 to 16:30 – Team Press Conference
24/11 – 16:30 to 17:00 – The F1 Show
25/11 – 16:00 to 19:00 – Live F1 Esports Final
29/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Review

BBC Radio F1
24/11 – 12:55 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
25/11 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
25/11 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
26/11 – 12:30 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)

Formula Two – Abu Dhabi (Sky Sports F1)
24/11 – 07:30 to 08:15 – Practice
24/11 – 15:00 to 15:30 – Qualifying
25/11 – 14:40 to 15:45 – Race 1
26/11 – 10:10 to 11:15 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Abu Dhabi (Sky Sports F1)
24/11 – 11:10 to 11:45 – Qualifying
25/11 – 08:20 to 09:15 – Race 1
26/11 – 08:45 to 09:30 – Race 2

The schedule above will be updated if anything changes.

Sky reap the rewards as Channel 4’s highlights struggle in late-night slot

With little to play for, the viewing figures for the Brazilian Grand Prix were on the low side last weekend, overnight numbers show.

Race
Live coverage of the race, broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports F1, averaged 1.00m (7.1%) from 15:00 to 18:30. Sky’s number is in-line with 2014, whilst marginally down on last year’s figure of 1.13m (6.7%) over an extended time slot. On one hand, you could argue that viewing figures should be higher with no competition from Premier League football, but on the other hand, both championships have been finalised, so F1 is lucky that numbers were not significantly lower than that.

Sky’s coverage peaked with 1.60m (9.8%) at 17:30, only slightly down on last year’s peak audience of 1.75m (8.1%). The race was re-markedly stable, remaining between 1.49 million and the 1.60 million viewers between 16:15 and 17:35.

Channel 4’s highlights aired in a later slot compared with last year, and suffered badly as a result. Their programme averaged just 968k (13.0%) from 22:35 to 00:45 on Sunday evening, a decrease of 453,000 viewers on last year’s number of 1.42m (10.6%) and their second lowest rating for a race highlights programme. Channel 4’s coverage peaked with 1.38m (13.1%) at 23:00.

It is the second race in a row where Sky have beaten Channel 4, and the third time this season, all in similar circumstances where Channel 4’s programme have aired in a late-night slot. Channel 4 should overhaul the deficit to Sky in the consolidated audience figures, with viewers watching their programme later in the week.

The combined average of 1.97 million viewers is the second lowest audience of the season, only just ahead of June’s Canadian Grand Prix which averaged 1.93 million viewers. To be below two million viewers for Brazil under any circumstances is pitiful. The likes of Sky Go and Now TV will push the audience up by a few hundred thousand viewers, but it is still a dreadfully low number.

For the fourth time this season, Formula 1 recorded a peak audience of below three million viewers, with a combined peak of 2.98 million viewers, down 19 percent year-on-year. For a race that can easily average above four million viewers in the right circumstances, the figures for Brazil last weekend were comfortably the lowest of the modern era for Interlagos.

Qualifying
Due to its earlier time slot, Channel 4’s qualifying highlights programme unusually performed better than their race day show. Highlights of qualifying averaged 1.14m (5.4%) from 19:30 to 21:00, however it was below Channel 4’s slot average. Their show peaked with 1.49m (7.2%) at 20:20, the peak coming just after BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing concluded.

Live coverage of qualifying on Sky Sports F1 averaged 436k (3.7%) from 15:00 to 17:45, comfortably their largest ever figure for a Brazilian qualifying session. An audience of 743k (5.5%) were watching as Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position.

The combined average audience of 1.58 million viewers is down by around 80,000 viewers year-on-year, and the lowest for Brazil since 2008.

The 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix ratings report can be found here.

overnights.tv-bannersF1

Vernon Kay announced as Channel 5’s new Formula E presenter

Vernon Kay will present live coverage of the upcoming Formula E season for Channel 5, the broadcaster has confirmed.

Press details for the upcoming Hong Kong E-Prix also note that the broadcaster will be on-site for season four, as suggested last month. Kay has previous for hosting sport, having hosted American football for Channel 4 previously. He is probably most famous for presenting the likes of All Star Family Fortunes and Splash! for ITV in recent years.

Channel 5 says that Kay will present “all the action live from the paddock as round one and two of the 2017/18 Formula E Championship spark into life at the HKT Hong Kong E-Prix on December 2-3 around the Victoria Harbour front.” It marks a significant shift for the broadcaster from the low-budget studio that was used during their first season covering the sport.

In the official press release, Kay says “Formula E remains an incredible spectacle within the world of motorsport. I can’t wait to get track-side and present all the electric action, right from the heart of these amazing cities.” The announcement means that Andy Jaye no longer appears to be involved in Channel 5’s output, having hosted coverage last year.

The remainder of the punditry line-up is unknown as of writing. Also unconfirmed is the schedule for Hong Kong. Provisional schedules for Hong Kong suggest that Channel 5 will be airing both races on tape-delay from 09:00 to 10:45 on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd December respectively. The press release from Formula E also states that Channel 5 will broadcast live coverage from selected races, which cannot be seen as good news and a downgrade on previous years.

Initial reaction to Kay’s involvement is mixed, and very much reminiscent of the reaction when Melanie Sykes became BT Sport’s MotoGP presenter and when Steve Jones became Channel 4’s F1 presenter. The outcome was different for both: Sykes’ gig lasted three months, whilst Jones is coming to the end of his second season as Formula 1 presenter, a role he has settled into very well.

Whilst Kay does come from a similar background to Sykes, he has the advantage of having presented sport before. I suspect that, even though the Formula E race is live, the build-up segments might be pre-recorded in advance, allowing a certain degree of preparation beforehand for Kay and his co-presenters to prepare their lines. The post-race part is always the trickier element to master and requires a significant amount of research in advance. Kay is enough of a veteran for me to feel that he will be just fine in the role.

The important thing which we should not forget is that, for the first time, a UK broadcaster will be on-site at every round, which is a massive step in the right direction if the series is to grow and flourish in this country. I suspect North One Television, who are producing Formula E content from this season onwards alongside Aurora, have helped put Channel 5’s package together.

Updated on November 15th.

Julian Ryder to bow out of MotoGP commentary role following 2017 season

Julian Ryder is to retire from his MotoGP broadcasting duties at the end of the 2017 season, this site can confirm. It means that his commentary alongside Keith Huewen for BT Sport in Valencia, will be his last in MotoGP, for now at least.

Ryder follows MotoGP World Feed lead commentator Nick Harris in retiring, Harris also bowing out this weekend. BT nor Ryder have yet to comment, but I have been able to independently verify the news with multiple sources, whilst stars from the paddock fraternity have noted it on social media.

Involved in motor cycle racing for over 30 years, Ryder started off as a journalist before moving into the television space with Eurosport in the late 1980s. Ryder’s first major stint was with Sky Sports, working alongside the likes of Huewen and Martin Turner (more recently Sky’s Head of Formula 1) on their World Superbikes coverage.

Into the new millennium, Ryder moved to Eurosport, covering MotoGP with Toby Moody and Randy Mamola, forming a partnership that became universally liked by viewers from the beginning until Eurosport’s coverage ended in 2013. Ryder made the switch with MotoGP to BT Sport, reforming his partnership with Huewen, lasting for four seasons.

BT Sport’s presentation line-up has changed various times since their coverage started in 2014, with Melanie Sykes, Abi Griffiths, and Iwan Thomas coming and going at various stages. Ryder’s departure appears to be his decision as opposed to a BT influenced move. It is fair to say that BT will lose his vast array of knowledge and expertise spanning the three classes on the MotoGP programme, which will be incredibly difficult to replace.

> Interested in how motorcycle television broadcasting works? Head over here and here for a behind the scenes look…

The problem for all motor sport series, especially MotoGP and Formula 1, is that as the number of races increases, so does the demand and strain on all involved with the championship, including broadcasters’ and journalists. The more races you add to the calendar in fly-away locations, the less desire there is to continue said travel.

If broadcasters want to retain their best talent, both in front and behind the camera, they need to strongly consider rotating their talent better, including commentary or, as an alternative, to call some of the fly-away races from London. For next season, I would expect Neil Hodgson and Colin Edwards to be the prime candidates to fill Ryder’s void, in what could be BT Sport’s fourth and last season covering the sport.

Either way, the 2017 Valencia MotoGP round marks the end of an era, with two legendary commentators heading to pastures new outside of the MotoGP paddock.

Update on November 10th – Speaking at the start of BT Sport’s coverage of the first MotoGP practice session on Friday morning, Ryder said, “My name is Julian Ryder, I’m here for the last weekend of my MotoGP career.” Ryder also explained his reasoning at the start of the broadcast. “I decided that I can’t deal with the travel anymore, I’ve got other jobs I want to do, so I’m quietly out the door on Sunday.”

Speaking to Keith Huewen, Ryder said that “it has been the pleasure of my professional life to commentate with you. It has always been fun, as it should be!”