Channel 4 F1 vs Sky Sports F1: Your 2016 Verdict Revealed

2016 saw a wave of change in the Formula 1 broadcasting world, with the BBC announcing its television exit at the end of 2015 and Channel 4 stepping into the fray. As usual, this site has had feedback on the coverage of both Channel 4 and Sky during 2016, and positives can be picked out from both sides.

The popular opinion amongst readers is that Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage has started off brightly, with some wishing that Channel 4 and Whisper are able to continue covering Formula 1 in some form beyond 2018.

Channel 4’s coverage has been excellent, I would love them to continue after 2019. – Tom

Given the relatively short amount of time C4 had to prepare, I think they have little to be disappointed about, which makes it all the more frustrating that from 2019, no live coverage. – davidd93

In particular, the revolving punditry received praise from the likes of James Hurrell and Naz, with multiple commenters noting how the mix of pundits from Susie Wolff to Eddie Jordan was right for the programming. Steve Jones was liked by the majority of readers. TMD_NASCAR noted that Jones settled in well whilst others added that the relationship on-screen between Jones and David Coulthard is excellent.

Channel 4’s coverage on the other hand has been like a breath of fresh air, with Steve Jones’s role and his banter with DC, key to the whole tone of their presentation. They don’t give Karun Chandhok enough airtime, but he still manages to always fill it with key points and predictions and his knowledge is incredible. – Golly

Channel 4’s graphics were largely praised by rosswilliamquinn and TMD_NASCAR, although steven felt that they would have suited 2006 more than 2016. One element that received criticism from multiple people was the ‘missing pundits’ as davidd93 correctly pointed out.

I do need to raise one point – missing presenters from the announcement.

  • Where was Nic Hamilton?
  • Where was Bruno Senna? (I only remember seeing him during the opening sequence of Brazil)
  • Where was Alain Prost (I only remember seeing him during one race weekend, but I can’t remember which one)
  • I’m not including Alex Zanardi since even before the first race, he basically denied any involvement, despite C4’s announcement.

As they were part of the C4 announcement, I was expecting more from all of the above as part of the rotational basis, but I was disappointed that that never materialised.

The second point of criticism concerned the lack of ‘in-depth analysis’ according to James Hurrell, with simonhullf going as far to as calling Channel 4’s output ‘dumbed down’.

Over on Sky, one of the main people praised was Simon Lazenby. Lazenby annoyed ThomasJPitts less in 2016, with simonhullf comparing him to a familiar name…

I think Simon Lazenby has really grown on me – he’s the modern day Jim Rosenthal – very solid, and most often asking the right questions. The much improved chemistry between Lazenby, Herbert and Hill has really helped.

A few readers noted that whilst Sky’s line-up has been around for a while, and opinions differ on whether this is a good thing.

I’ve been a hardcore viewer of Sky’s F1 coverage since the very beginning and have to say on the whole I’ve been very impressed with their coverage this season. I would agree that Sky’s lineup is becoming stale, but without a doubt Ted Kravitz, Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson are the gems. – simonhullf

The rest of the team are their usual high quality, even if it does feel a bit stale now, 5 (?) seasons in. – ThomasJPitts

In terms of Sky, I’m bored of Lazenby, Herbert and Hill. Too stale and far too matey in the way they interact. – stevvy

The commentary line-up of David Croft and Martin Brundle received widespread praise with readers noting that Brundle is still the best commentator out there. Sky did receive the (now usual) criticism about their content outside of the weekend decreasing along with overhyping features, this being noted by stevvy, simonhullf and Rob Bortkiewicz.

Elsewhere, the BBC’s radio coverage received compliments from blog readers, in particular theirb podcast.

Five Live coverage has been good (although hidden away from the radio itself too often) – the dynamic between Tom Clarkson and Jack Nicholls is good in the absence of Allan McNish and it makes for an entertaining listen. – DC

As a group they actually seem to be having the most fun and have the most passion and aren’t afraid to argue their points with each other. Their post race review show/podcast is a staple of my Monday mornings providing a little more insight on the event and any fallout from long after C4 and Sky have packed up and gone. – James Hurrell

There is a lot more opinions on the post itself, including some 2017 suggestions for Sky and Channel 4 (most include the word ‘Jenson’) which is worth a read, as always the above is just a taster of feedback on the site.

Formula 1’s UK viewing figures drop significantly year-on-year

The move of Formula 1 from the BBC to Channel 4, along with a familiar story at the front of the field, resulted in viewing figures dropping significantly between 2015 and 2016, overnight numbers show.

> Channel 4’s audience down 1.25 million compared with BBC’s coverage
> Sky increases year-on-year
> Combined audience likely lowest since 2006

The viewing figures in this article are overnight average audiences supplied by Overnights.tv for Channel 4’s and Sky Sports’ broadcasts, including Sky Sports 1, 2 and Mix where applicable. Sky’s numbers are for their three and a half hour broadcast covering ‘Pit Lane Live’ and the race itself from 12:00 to 15:30, or applicable.

Overnight viewing figures, otherwise known as Live + VOSDAL (Viewing On Same Day As Live) include anyone who watched the programming before 02:00 the next morning. For example, if you recorded the live race broadcast, but watched it at 18:00 on Sunday evening, you would be counted in the overnight viewing figures.

This article excludes on demand methods of viewing, such as All 4 and Sky Go. However, on demand viewing is expected to be down by some margin year on year, as a result of Formula 1’s move to Channel 4, and therefore away from BBC iPlayer.

Channel 4’s overnight viewing figures
In 2016, Channel 4 aired ten races live, with the other eleven covered in highlights form. Their race day programming across 2016 averaged 1.96 million viewers. Their live races averaged 2.18 million viewers, with their highlight shows averaging 1.76 million viewers. Clearly it can be argued that the highlights programming in unfavourable time slots have dragged Channel 4’s average audiences down.

The season highlight for Channel 4 was live coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix which averaged 2.89m (12.6%) from 18:00 to 21:00 in October, with the low light an audience of just 841k for the US Grand Prix highlights programme a week before. Disappointingly for the channel, audiences failed to grow in the latter half of 2016. Considering the context of the championship, the Malaysian Grand Prix underperformed as did the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“Our first year covering Formula 1 has been as exciting as the championship itself and the millions who have tuned in week in week out reflect that. It’s been gripping from start to finish and we can’t wait for the 2017 season to get under way.” – Stephen Lyle, Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for Sport and Formula 1

Last year, the BBC’s coverage averaged 3.11 million viewers, meaning that Channel 4’s 2016 audience was down 36.8 percent. The drop is sharper than expected. Scheduling of the American fly away races did not help. There is a lot to be said for Channel 4’s promotion, or lack of, as the season progressed.

Across different demographics, the larger drops have been across the older audience, but nevertheless viewing has dropped across all demographics (although the 16-34 drop is smaller). It should be noted though that Channel 4’s Formula 1 programming thrashed slot averages across the year, and does show what Formula 1 can bring to a terrestrial television channel.

Channel 4’s programming recorded an average race day peak audience of 2.75 million viewers. Three races stood head and shoulders above the rest: Britain (3.89 million), Mexico (3.93 million) and Abu Dhabi (3.85 million). I think there will be disappointment that Channel 4’s Formula 1 programming did not break the 4 million peak barrier once. Nor did any other races get anywhere close to the peak figures mentioned above, the fourth highest peak was Bahrain (3.24 million).

Sky’s overnight viewing figures
Live coverage of the 21 races on Sky Sports in 2016 have averaged 669k from 12:00 to 15:30 or equivalent, up 4.9 percent on 2015. In a year of tough competition battling against the Olympics, Euro 2016 and the longest ever season, that is an impressive figure, showing tough resilience against the competition. Oddly, Sky’s coverage does rate better in the even-numbered years which is an interesting stat.

Since 2012, Sky’s coverage has averaged 709k, 640k, 790k, 638k and now 669k. So it has flip-flopped up and down. That’s probably not a good thing as there is no real trend other than stagnation. Sky has found their audience and simply halted there without being able to reach out further. Bear in mind too that 2016’s audience includes the various simulcasts on Sky Sports 1, 2 and Mix, whereas these simulcasts were not happening in 2012.

The highlight of Sky’s Formula 1 coverage in 2016 was a peak audience of 1.75 million viewers for the extended Brazilian Grand Prix, the second highest peak for a Formula 1 race on Sky only behind the 2014 United States Grand Prix. Strong numbers in the second half of 2016 helped Sky overcome its deficit that it faced year-on-year at the midway stage of the season where it looked like Sky was heading for a record low.

Overall, eight races increased their viewing figures for Sky year-on-year, whilst the remaining eleven races dropped (the other two were not on the calendar last year). You might be wondering how this results in an overall increase, but the title battle going down to the wire was significant for Sky: both Brazil and Abu Dhabi’s numbers doubled year-on-year which is very rare and shows how much broadcasters suffered when the championship race finishes early.

In my opinion, Sky’s figures are not good enough. If Sky are failing to increase their viewing figures now, will they be able to do so come 2019? Before we know it, 2019 will be here and Sky don’t look to be in a position where they can reach out to a breed of Formula 1 fans. That’s not good for the success of Formula 1 in this country.

Overall audiences
During 2016, a combined average audience of 2.63 million viewers watched Formula 1’s 21 races across Channel 4 and Sky Sports, a drop of 29.7 percent on 2015’s average audience of 3.74 million viewers across the BBC and Sky. By the overnight audience metric, it is the lowest audience for a Formula 1 season since records began in 2006. However, once consolidated audiences are calculated, it is likely that 2016 will jump above 2006. Nevertheless, viewing figures are down on last season. This was to be expected. No one knew by how much, though. The size of the drop might surprise some.

Most races were down around 35 percent, but there were some exceptions. The five best races year-on-year were Mexico (up 32%), Abu Dhabi (up 16%), Belgium (down 11%), Austria (down 19%) and Japan (down 26%). By the peak metric, the five best races year-on-year were Mexico (up 36%), Abu Dhabi (up 35%), Belgium (down 5%), Austria (down 12%) and Britain (down 15%). Mexico was up considerably as it was shown live on free-to-air television, whilst Abu Dhabi was the championship decider, and arguably should have been a lot higher than the peak audience of 4.99 million viewers that it recorded.

As referenced above, the peak audiences for three races were considerably higher than the rest, which I don’t think is a good thing. It suggests that the audience is being ‘trained’ to pick and choose what races they want to watch instead of tuning in to watch the complete season. One reason: 21 races is too much and the casual fan simply cannot commit to watching all 21 races.

Why did the British Grand Prix peak with 4.99 million viewers but the Hungarian race two weeks later peak with 4.16 million viewers? Historically, Hungary has been a few hundred thousand behind Silverstone when looking at the peak viewing audiences, not nearly a million viewers behind. It is questions like this that Channel 4 should be asking to try to work out where best to advertise Formula 1. Channel 4’s bill boards and cross channel advertising disappeared after a few races. Next season, these need to continue or be more spread out across the whole season.

Austria, Britain and Belgium did not disgrace themselves year-on-year which gave hope that audiences would hold up in the second half of the season. What followed was a spectacular drop, where audiences dropped five times in a row from 2.60 million in Belgium to 1.83 million in USA. At the same time, Nico Rosberg’s stranglehold on the championship took shape, recording four out of six wins in this period. Arguably, Rosberg stopped the momentum (from a UK ratings perspective) that had built up before the Summer break and the viewing figures support this theory.

On demand viewing likely to be down and final thoughts
The switch from the BBC to Channel 4 has meant that Formula 1 content is no longer available on BBC iPlayer. Figures from BARB for the week ending 27th November show that BBC iPlayer had nearly seven times more live streaming requests that All 4, and five times more on-demand requests. This will have impacted Formula 1’s on demand reach year-on-year, and probably resulted in a downturn year-on-year. The likes of Sky Go and Now TV will have trended upwards I imagine, but are both unlikely to negate the loss of BBC iPlayer. As of writing, there is no word on how BBC’s radio coverage performed compared with 2015, but I will update this site if figures are revealed.

As I’ve always said, any drop is disappointing. But to expect Channel 4’s figures to match the BBC’s from the outset was plain unrealistic. A drop of 36 percent was higher than I anticipated across the year, but not an immediate shock when the first few races started to come in. Some of that might be down to Channel 4, some of that down to the quality of the racing and the championship fight. Announcing that live Formula 1 was leaving free-to-air television from 2019 onwards after Channel 4’s very first race might have done more harm than good for the sport this season.

The aim for 2017 has to be to hold onto the existing audience, and build on it for the next generation. Whether that is easier said than done depends on how the 2017 season unfolds. Funnily enough, the person who was partly responsible for the audience decline throughout the year has now retired. If that results in a new championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and another contender, audiences could increase. The problem in 2016 was that Rosberg did not have a large UK fan base. He wasn’t Sebastian Vettel, who increased audience figures back in 2011. There is a lot of work to do to hook viewers onto Formula 1 in 2017, and the direction Mercedes go with their second driver could dictate the direction viewing figures head…

Sky and the BBC declined to comment.

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Channel 4’s F1 team: The 2016 Verdict

Two months, 26 days and 18 hours. That is the length of time from the BBC’s Formula 1 television exit on Monday 21st December 2015 to the start of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday 20th March 2016.

Putting a television programme together of a high-quality standard is an immensely difficult task. From the on-air team, through to the editorial team, creating the visual graphics, and so on. So, how did Channel 4 and production company Whisper Films perform in their first season covering Formula 1?

Jones impresses as lead presenter
For any broadcast, it is critical that the lead partner is up to standard and can steer the ship. Ask anyone who worked on Channel 4’s athletics coverage in 2011 about Ortis Deley and they will tell you how throwing someone into the deep end can undermine the reputation of an entire programme.

A motor racing presenter needs to be able to present in all conditions, outside the confines of a studio and into the heat of Malaysia or the soaking wet weather in Interlagos, whilst ad-libbing as guests appear or disappear with a moment notice. Before 2016, Steve Jones had never presented a live sporting event. When I found out that Jones was going to be presenter, I was surprised. An unusual and unexpected option. But, we can safely say an inspired choice. Nervous in Bahrain, Jones has evolved throughout the year into his own style.

Occasionally, his presenting comes across as ‘hammy’ but overall, I’ve enjoyed listening to him this year. Jones has been better than I imagined. Early indications are that Jones will remain with Channel 4’s team in 2017. The best part is that Jones does not imitate other presenters before him. He is not the next Jake Humphrey, or the next Suzi Perry. He is the first Steve Jones, and that is clear from his delivery. I hope we see Jones around for the next few years.

Jones was helped by those who provided expert opinion alongside him. I enjoyed seeing Mark Webber, David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan as pundits throughout the year. Webber and Coulthard have great rapport with one another, whilst Susie Wolff was a pleasant surprise as well.

The winning commentary formula continues
Whilst Channel 4 made changes on the punditry front compared with the BBC, one area they kept the same was commentary. Across the year, we heard some fantastic commentary calls, including one of the best modern-day commentary moments I think we have heard in a long time. It is critical that the lead commentator can concisely sell and get ‘over’ the key moments in the season. Ben Edwards’ commentary on Lewis Hamilton’s retirement in the Malaysian Grand Prix was a season defining moment with commentary to back it up:

Ben Edwards: Hamilton’s in trouble! Hamilton’s engine has blown! His race is run here in Malaysia! And when it looked like he was going to take the lead in the championship, would you believe it! He has never had a non-finish here.
Lewis Hamilton [Team Radio]: Oh no, no!
Ben Edwards: But he’s had a non-finish when it counts in Malaysia, only his second of the year!

Sometimes it is easy to over exaggerate the gravitas of a moment, but the commentary in the moment from Edwards was perfect. People don’t remember the 88 minutes of commentary in a football game where nothing happened and it is the same in Formula 1. The race defining calls have to be perfect, and this one was. You won’t get them all spot on, but the call in Malaysia was on the money. Similarly, Edwards and Coulthard conveyed the drama of Abu Dhabi well I felt.

The Edwards and Coulthard combination is now heading into season six. I enjoy the combination, but would appreciate hearing more of Mark Webber in the commentary box next season. Webber joined Edwards and Coulthard for commentary at Silverstone, but the three-team team was not repeated elsewhere. However, Channel 4 used Karun Chandhok and Lee McKenzie more during the race as the year progressed, which was a welcome change compared to how McKenzie has been used in the past. I hope we see more three-team commentary line-ups in 2017. I hear someone called ‘Jenson’ has a little experience in this area too…

Unfulfilled promises
When Channel 4 announced their line up in March, there were promises of a rotating line-up. This didn’t happen as much as I had hoped for throughout the season. Alain Prost was announced as part of their line up but only utilised properly in Spain (with a fleeting appearance in Abu Dhabi).

Nicolas Hamilton, Alex Zanardi and Bruno Senna were all announced but never appeared despite a fantastic VT being shown during the press morning with relation to Zanardi (he ended up appearing in a segment during Sky’s Mexican Grand Prix coverage). Senna appeared as part of Channel 4’s Brazilian Grand Prix opener, but no further. Considering how much Senna brought to Sky’s coverage in the early years, it was disappointing that he was not a regular part of Channel 4’s team.

The tip here is to only announce people who you intend to use on air regularly. Don’t announce stars who are unlikely to be around, as this will only annoy the watching punter. I did feel that the quality of the programming dropped slightly in the second half of the season, and adding a bit of variety would have helped in that respect, or even bringing Chandhok into the pre-race build-ups.

Channel 4’s 2016 live punditry line-up (excluding David Coulthard)
Bahrain: Mark Webber, Eddie Jordan, Susie Wolff
Spain: Alain Prost, Susie Wolff
Europe: Eddie Jordan
Britain: Mark Webber, Eddie Jordan, Susie Wolff
Hungary: Susie Wolff
Belgium: Mark Webber
Italy: Eddie Jordan
Malaysia: Mark Webber
Mexico: Mark Webber, Eddie Jordan
Abu Dhabi: Mark Webber, Eddie Jordan, Susie Wolff

It is a minor gripe, but one that should be noted, the last thing Channel 4 wants to happen is to head into ‘Skyfall’, that is the trap that Sky have fallen into in recent years of having the same standard line-up at every race weekend. Eventually, this becomes a turn off, which Channel 4 will be acutely aware of. I’m not suggesting that Coulthard and Webber were turn offs in Belgium and Italy, but more I’m thinking of ways to keep the programming fresh with new opinions.

Whilst Britain and Abu Dhabi unsurprisingly had the ‘hands on deck’ treatment, it is important not to neglect the rounds in between, which might have happened slightly this year. It was noted pre-season that Channel 4’s line-up would be adjusted depending on how the season progressed, but not many visible changes occurred. I won’t be surprised if this was unavoidable given the number of races in such a short period. There will probably be changes for 2017 if Channel 4 try to rope in the likes of Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg for a few appearances throughout the year.

Overall though, when you consider the amount of time Channel 4 and Whisper Films had to prepare for F1 2016, the channel and production company did a fantastic job to gather the team that they did for 2016. They will go into 2017 in better shape knowing what works and what doesn’t, which can only be a good thing for those watching their programming.

The second part of the 2016 Verdict looking at Channel 4’s programming will be posted around the 17th December.

Rosberg’s title victory peaks with 5 million viewers

A peak audience of 4.99 million viewers watched Nico Rosberg clinch his first ever Drivers’ Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, overnight UK viewing figures show.

Race
Live coverage of the race, broadcast on Channel 4 from 12:00 to 16:35, attracted 2.25m (19.1%), peaking with 3.85m (29.5%) at 14:35 as Lewis Hamilton won the Grand Prix. The average was depleted more than usual due to the longer broadcast. From 12:00 to 15:30, an average of 2.57m (22.3%) watched the broadcast.

Of course, Channel 4’s viewing figures were always going to be down on the BBC’s past title deciders, but the scale of the drop is higher than anticipated. In 2014, when Hamilton became a two-time champion, BBC’s coverage peaked with 6.53m (42.1%). So, at the time of the peak, Channel 4’s coverage was down by around 2.7 million viewers (or 41 percent) compared with the BBC in 2014.

Yes, the BBC reaches a lot more viewers than Channel 4. But, on the other hand you would expect Channel 4 to claw back some viewers with it being the championship decider. Channel 4’s coverage did thrash its own slot average, but the audiences were marginally down on Silverstone in July and Mexico last month. In 2010 and 2014, when Abu Dhabi was the last race and played host to the title decider, it soared to season high numbers by a comfortable margin. That didn’t happen yesterday.

Sky Sports’ coverage of the race from 12:00 to 15:30 averaged 770k (6.7%). 557k (4.8%) watched on the Formula 1 channel, with a further 212k (1.9%) watching on Sky Sports 2. Sky’s programme peaked with 1.15m (8.8%) at 14:35. Both metrics are down around 15 percent on 2014’s average of 963k (7.1%) and peak audience of 1.36m (8.8%). So, despite a far more exciting race yesterday than in 2014, viewing figures were down. Sky planting a triple bill of football against the F1 couldn’t have helped.

The race started off with 3.95m (36.3%) at 13:00. Audiences climbed during the first phase of the Grand Prix to 4.55m (39.2%) at 13:25. At this point, audiences stabilised around the 4.4 million mark, which isn’t too much of a surprise as there was a mid-race ‘lull’ as Hamilton temporarily disappeared into the distance. At 14:10, 4.40m (36.0%) were watching and it was at this point where casual viewers started to tune into the F1. The audience climbed again, peaking with 4.99m (38.3%) at 14:35.

The combined audience of 3.01 million viewers is up on last year’s non-title deciding number, but heavily down on 2010 and 2014 by around 2.5 million viewers. The combined peak audience of 4.99 million viewers is the third highest of 2016, only behind Silverstone and Mexico. Again, the peak was down on the 2010 peak audience of 7.35m (46.3%) and the 2014 peak audience of 7.89m (50.9%).

Qualifying and Analysis
Live coverage of qualifying averaged 1.15m (13.7%) on Channel 4, with Sky Sports F1 adding a further 330k (3.9%). The combined audience of 1.48 million viewers is actually on the lower end of the spectrum for the 2016 season as a whole.

I don’t fully blame Channel 4 for this. I do, however, blame them for the lack of advertising in the latter end of the season. A genius move would have been to not only advertise on their own channel but to buy slots on other channels to get word out about the season decider. Advertising through the season is critical, and some of the low figures above may be attributed to failing to get word out to the harder to reach audiences.

However, the figures also tell us that interest simply was not as high as first time around for a battle between Hamilton and Rosberg. For all the previous title battles that went to the wire, the fight was new: Hamilton vs Massa in 2008, the four-way fight in 2010 and Hamilton vs Rosberg in 2014. They were new and would have hooked on a significant portion of new viewers. Hamilton versus Rosberg, part II was not interesting. Unfortunately for Formula 1, the abject failure of Ferrari not turning up in 2016 has meant that we have gone another season without a compelling, multi-team championship battle.

There will be more analysis on this in a next few weeks, but if a Verstappen or Ricciardo or Vettel or Raikkonen challenges Rosberg and Hamilton for the championship in 2017, then viewing figures will rise. That I admit is easier said than done…

The 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ratings report can be found here.

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Channel 4 F1 versus Sky Sports F1: Your 2016 Verdict

The 2016 Formula One season has come to a climax in Abu Dhabi, with Nico Rosberg being crowned Drivers’ Champion! The season has also seen Max Verstappen continue to make an impression, whilst Ferrari have faltered on numerous occasions. On the broadcasting side, 2016 marked Channel 4’s first year covering Formula 1 after BBC TV’s shock exit at the end of 2015.

I’ve written countless words concerning both Channel 4’s and Sky’s coverage this season. Now, it is your opportunity to have a say. Have Channel 4 done Formula 1 justice? How can both they and Sky Sports improve in 2017? Has Steve Jones lived up to the billing as “F1 presenter”? Do you want Channel 4 to continue covering Formula 1 in some form from 2019 onwards?

Of course, the BBC did stay in the radio game, so for anyone listening via that form of communication, all thoughts are welcome on the BBC’s radio coverage and anything else on the broadcasting landscape, including Formula One Management’s (FOM) television coverage. Has the way you consume Formula 1 changed under the new rights deal?

The best thoughts and opinion will be collated into a new piece, which will be published in a few weeks’ time.