Category: Formula One Management

All posts relating to Formula One Management (FOM), the company that control the World Feed.

News round-up: Whisper Films win award; Channel 4 to air motor racing documentaries

It has been a little quiet lately, but there have been a few snippets worth reporting on, as Whisper Films have picked up awards for their Formula 1 coverage and FOM have made small innovations to their TV product.

Whisper Films win award
Whisper Films’ Formula 1 production has earned the respect of plaudits, coming away from the AIB (Association for International Broadcasting) Awards as victor in the Sport category. Specifically, their production of Channel 4’s Spanish Grand Prix was commended. The judging panel said that their coverage, specifically surrounding the Spanish Grand Prix, had “translated to a great experience for the viewer.”

Outside of their Channel 4 coverage, Whisper have continued to produce Formula 1 documentaries this year, notably a 30-minute documentary covering Mercedes following the Spanish Grand Prix entitled ‘Two Weeks to Win’ and a 60-minute documentary for Red Bull’s TV station looking at the history of the pit stop in motor racing. Sky Sports aired the Mercedes documentary a few weeks ago, but it demonstrates how much content Whisper is producing now.

Winning the Channel 4 production contract showed that Whisper meant business, and they have since recruited people from Sky and BBC to bolster their team. Like I’ve said before, I hope Whisper produces Sky’s Formula 1 coverage from 2019 onwards, simply because their team is bringing together the best from multiple different sides.

Channel 4 to air three motor racing documentaries in Abu Dhabi build-up
Whilst Whisper Films produce Channel 4’s main Formula 1 programming, two other production companies have produced two new documentaries that will air on Channel 4 in the lead up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. ‘0 to 60mph: Britain’s Fastest Kids’, produced by Finestripe Productions, tracks three families as their youngsters chase their Formula 1 dream.

Meanwhile, Philip Glenister and Ant Anstead try to restore the Lotus Elite, which was designed by Colin Chapman. The documentary builds up to the Tourist Trophy classic car event at Silverstone, where Glenister and Anstead hope to race the restored Lotus Elite. The show, entitled ‘The Lost Lotus: Restoring a Race Car’, is produced by Love Productions.

The two 60-minute documentaries will air back to back from 19:00 on Sunday 20th November on Channel 4. A third programme, an in-depth interview with Mark Webber, will air on Saturday 26th November at 11:25 between the Abu Dhabi practice and qualifying sessions.

FOM evolutions on offer in Mexico
There were a few new graphics on offer during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. Notably, new graphics were shown during the formation lap tracking the gap between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg as the 2016 season has progressed. During the race, graphics were used in replay segments to identify cars easier for the various turn one incidents.

Alongside this, FOM have experimented with having guests speaking to drivers’ during the formation lap and warm down lap. Following the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying session, Johnny Herbert spoke to Nico Rosberg over the radio whilst Juan Montoya chatted to Esteban Guttierez prior to the Mexican Grand Prix.

It is nice to see Formula One Management (FOM) making changes and refining their offering. As always though with FOM it feels that they experiment with something only to ditch it a few weeks later. Innovations such as line comparison and thermal cameras for whatever reason were dropped a long time ago, yet virtual advertising is kept.

I mention line comparison in light of the recent addition to Dorna’s MotoGP coverage. The Malaysian MotoGP saw a brilliant comparison aired between four of MotoGP’s leading riders at the turn 15 hairpin, showing the different apex’s that are taken. Unlike FOM, Dorna (most of the time) keep and run with their innovations whereas FOM haphazardly drop them for no apparent reason.

As I’ve mentioned previously, FOM’s entire product and direction needs a strategic re-think in order to bring some of the ‘rawness’ back to Formula 1, it feels like their television coverage has stagnated in recent years, a trend which needs to be reversed. Team radio helps, as Sebastian Vettel demonstrated in Mexico but that is only one piece of the wider puzzle.

Meanwhile over at Sky
We should see Sky Sports’ Christmas schedule filter through soon. With a lot of attention on Johnny Herbert and Damon Hill with their recent book releases, it was interesting to note that a 60-minute documentary was actually planned on Herbert in 2014 but shelved. This filtered through to Sky’s Christmas schedules that year but never materialised. Whilst incredibly disappointing, this leads me onto the next point about Hill.

Twitter users would have seen a lot of coverage on Hill returning to the Williams FW18 at Silverstone. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but I really hope that this forms part of a wider 1996 one-hour long programme instead of a five-minute snippet. I think it will be the latter, but Sky need to commit to Formula 1 more given that they are taking the sport on exclusively from 2019, and with that in mind I hope Sky to deliver on a longer edit for the Hill segment.

Live in-car footage set to take centre stage in revamped F1 app?

The official Formula 1 app is reportedly set to get an overhaul, with a new version of the app currently in beta testing.

Images have been circulating on social media with Dutch users testing the app. The new app appears to give users the ability to customise which of the 22 cars they wish to ride on-board with. The key word in the linked tweet is “all”. In previous iterations of Sky’s Race Control app, there was always the limitation of how many cars the user could choose from. That is about to change.

This is clearly a significant development as the F1 app has never featured live footage of any nature before, and is a major step in the right direction from Formula One Management (FOM). I assume the testing is in preparation for the 2017 season, but as of writing we do not know yet.

What we do know is that there has been a lot of advances in the way data is transferred by Tata Communications, which will open up avenues such as every on-board camera being open at one time, and available for the viewer to use. Ideally, FOM need to be looking at MotoGP’s Video Pass and beyond for what content they need to be delivering to the consumer.

Of course, there are further questions: will this come at a cost to the customer (almost certainly an increase for F1 Access) and will it be geo-blocked where rights restrictions are in place (UK with Sky for example). On the surface, this looks like a very promising development.

As ever, we await further information and I’ll update this post when we hear anything, but it looks like 2017 will see a significant change in this landscape.

Are FOM set to release driver briefing footage publicly going forward?

Footage from driver briefings will be released to TV stations for the first time from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards, it has been reported by Motorsport Total and Auto Motor Und Sport today (October 5th).

Previously, TV stations had never had access to the footage from the driver briefings, but Formula One Management are now planning to make this available widely to broadcasters. It is possibly the first small, but noticeable footprint that Liberty Media is making with Formula 1. Driver briefings have always been filmed, so that aspect is not changing.

As the Motorsport Total article references, driver briefings played a key part in the ‘Senna’ film, showing the various debates between Ayrton Senna and then FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre. Without that footage, the documentary would not have been as powerful as what it was. In my opinion, this is a positive move and opens the inner workings of Formula One out to the wider public which is exactly what Liberty Media want to do.

It should help showcase the personalities, however there is a caveat. In the past, drivers knew that footage would be kept ‘private’, out of the media spotlight. Now that the relationship appears to be changing, will the driver briefings become a watered down ‘fake’ TV version as a result? I hope not, otherwise it will simply become a glorified version of the drivers’ press conference.

I’m looking forward to seeing the footage, if it emerges this weekend, or if Japan turns out to be a trial for 2017 to gauge feedback from broadcasters and drivers. Will we see the whole briefing, or snippets? I’d be wary if we see snippets as clips can be manipulated to suit an agenda.

The death of the drivers’ press conference?
The pre-race weekend FIA press conference has been a thing for years, with six drivers facing questions from the media. This was never played out in the public spotlight on television, it was just the drivers and the media asking questions. If an interesting snippet was said, it would have got words in an article somewhere, but nothing beyond that. It was, and still is, a medium for the written ‘Fleet Street’ media to do their bit.

The relationship changed in the early 2010s. The emergence of Sky Sports F1 and pay-TV meant that there was a growing desire to cover just about everything related to Formula 1 from testing to the first moment a driver walked into the paddock onto the last activity on a Sunday evening. Sky started covering the press conferences in 2012. At first it was a nice to watch thing, but four and a half years on, it is just ‘there’. It is easy to see why it was never broadcast on television in the first place, its simply of very little interest to anyone outside of the paddock. Does it still fulfill its remit?

https://twitter.com/LewisHamilton/status/783993912557989888

Broadcasting the pre-event press conference on television exposes the fact that it is very dry and frankly dull as dishwater, or at least the F1 version is. This is really interesting for me, because I attended all the MotoGP press conferences when I went to the British MotoGP round last month. I can’t claim to religiously watch the MotoGP conferences. But, what I discovered is that the line of questioning felt more intelligent and the reactions felt more ‘human’. Is this an F1 problem, or is it a MotoGP problem as well?

So, should the press conferences be ditched, perhaps in favour of airing the Friday driver briefings (which would give media more juicier ‘lines’ to take) or Fan Forum events? Lewis Hamilton made his feelings clear on Friday in the press conference itself and on Twitter. Anyone who dismisses his tweets and Snapchats as being ‘disrespectful’ is frankly being naive and ignoring the problem that is staring at everyone in the face.

What Hamilton is, quite rightly saying, is that the FOM presser questions are the same week in, week out, which is a view echoed by many. Funnily enough, this problem may only get worse with the takover of AUTOSPORT from Motorsport.com (more on that in a separate piece soon possibly), reducing the number of journalists possibly in the paddock. If the questions journalists ask are dull, that in turn means the output is dull. That might not be the fault of the journalist – if the information and video content they themselves have access to is ‘dull’, then their questions may be dull. It is a vicious cycle.

It does show and prove the point that the output as a whole from a driver interaction standpoint needs to be reinvented, which is where the driver briefings and the like come in. Sky, the BBC and Channel 4 have done fantastic work on that front. Now, FOM need to step up the game.

Update on October 8th – No footage from yesterday’s briefing has yet appeared online. There was a discussion during Sky’s coverage of practice three regarding the driver briefings, Anthony Davidson noting that “most of the time it wouldn’t make for very good television.” It is clear that there have been discussions about the footage been released, just that FOM have decided not to release the footage just yet.

New documentary to showcase ten F1 classic races

A new documentary coming soon on Blu-ray and DVD is to showcase ten Formula 1 classic races. The documentary, which will be released at the end of October, will include new footage from Formula One Management’s (FOM) archive.

According to Duke Video, the documentary will run to 100 minutes, meaning that there will be around ten minutes of footage from each race. The documentary includes insight from the personalities at the centre of each race weekend.

The races that will be featured are:

  • 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix – Niki Lauda
  • 1986 Australian Grand Prix – Alain Prost
  • 1987 British Grand Prix – Nigel Mansell
  • 1990 USA Grand Prix – Jean Alesi
  • 1994 German Grand Prix – Gerhard Berger
  • 1997 European Grand Prix – Jacques Villeneuve
  • 1999 European Grand Prix – Johnny Herbert
  • 2000 French Grand Prix – David Coulthard
  • 2007 Grand Prix of Europe – Fernando Alonso
  • 2011 Canadian Grand Prix – Jenson Button

A tweet from AUTOSPORT’s Glenn Freeman confirms that the documentary includes new camera angles of both Nigel Mansell’s blow out in Adelaide 1986 and Jos Verstappen’s pit lane explosion in Hockenheim 1994, amongst other things.

The formula for tomorrow

It was announced on September 7th that Liberty Media have agreed to acquire the Formula One Group, a move which could have ramifications in the months and years ahead. The agreement needs to be go through numerous hurdles, and there is a chance that the deal could fall through at any of those stages.

In the short-term, there is unlikely to be an immediate change. However, there will be areas that Liberty Media may try to put their footprint on going forward, such as social media and content distribution.

Although it does not face an acquisition, MotoGP itself has issues to contend with going forward. Whilst the motor cycling series has equalised the championship somewhat with a series of technical measures to make it a more exciting show for the fans, there are obstacles that lie ahead.

Social media remains an area for MotoGP to exploit further. And, MotoGP has to ask the question: how does it replace Valentino Rossi? Can it replace Rossi without suffering decline?

The calendar and race weekend format
From the outset, I think it needs to be established that any move Liberty Media makes with relation to Formula 1 should cater to the fan of tomorrow and not necessarily the fan of today and yesterday. Does Liberty Media want to please the fifty-year-old who has been watching Formula 1 for thirty years, or do they want to please the twenty-year-old who has only just started watching the sport? Arguably, their decision-making should be tailored towards the latter group of people, and that should be the case for all motor sport series.

Yes, that may upset some of the veteran fans the sport, but it is fundamental that Liberty tries to sustain Formula 1 for the next generation moving forward. It is why I expect the format of the race weekend to be one of Liberty Media’s first points of enquiry. The traditionalist fan likes the 90 to 120 minute races. But would two x 45 minute races or some other variation generate a larger audience for the sport, or a more diverse audience?

If there was interest in doing that, broadcasters would benefit as a result: Sky for example would be able to maximise air-time out of two x 45 minute races than one x 90-minute race. You could also flexibly schedule, for example, racing at 17:00 during the European season when sunset is not until 21:00.

What I don’t think should happen, and something I’m firmly against, is expanding the calendar to 25 race weekends, something that applies to both Formula 1 and MotoGP, but is mooted in Liberty Media’s F1 presentation. If it did get to that stage, I think I would pick and choose which races I watch as opposed to watch all 25. I also think that, with 25 races, the audience actually becomes more dispersed. Picking and choosing what you watch would not open the sport to a larger audience.

Liberty Media need to be clever about the scheduling and not turn F1 into something that becomes over-exposed. 21 races push it to the boundary already and I fear 25 races would send it over the edge, and that is even without considering everyone associated with the F1 paddock that is on the road for those races. MotoGP have currently got it right: I’m left feeling that I want more with 18 races and wanting less than 21 races with F1 – although the state of the respective championships tells the story.

Aside from Formula 1, I wonder what Liberty Media may want to do with GP2 or GP3. Although GP2 and GP3 are miniscule in the grand scheme of things, the relationship between the feeder series’ and the main series’ is significantly different with F1 compared to MotoGP. Should GP2 and GP3 be integrated more into the main package in the same way Moto2 and Moto3 are with MotoGP, thus increasing the reach of GP2 and GP3 and benefiting F1 in the longer run? Should Liberty Media start from the ground upwards as opposed to ‘changing’ F1 straight away?

These are questions I anticipate Liberty Media will ask, there’s no right or wrong answer. I can foresee a full review of the race weekend being conducted, although the racing on track is only as good as the design of the car itself. A poorly designed car not suited to overtaking means that the racing will be boring as a result unless you bring gimmicks into the show.

Social media and television rights
One of MotoGP’s biggest strengths over Formula 1 by some margin is social media, thanks to the rights holder working with the teams in order to generate the best result for the championship.

Even better for us is the past two years have seen a fundamental change in how [Dorna] interact with the teams via social media. In the past it has very much been standalone. MotoGP and social media, it’s to promote the championship, it’s to promote MotoGP. The teams had been left to themselves, we don’t have that audience at all. Even the biggest team here does not have the audience that the championship has across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Now, they couldn’t help us anymore than they are. – In conversation with Ian Wheeler (part 1)

MotoGP is several years ahead of Formula 1 where social media is concerned, something that Liberty Media should recognise. Social media was previously a ‘dirty’ word for both Formula 1 and MotoGP, but the latter adopted earlier. Formula 1 has been hindered by previous reluctance of those higher in the chain to exploit social media. I’ve spoken before about what Formula 1 needs to do in the new media space: short-form present day relevant video (see below for more on this point), genuine synergy between on-screen and social media and the creation of an over-the-top network, similar to the WWE Network or, a bit closer to home, the MotoGP Video Pass.

The Liberty Media purchase makes an over-the-top network more likely in my opinion. Their presentation to investors makes reference to opportunities including “enhancing distribution of content, especially in digital” and to monetise the digital space where possible. Again, this will not be an overnight shift but one over the next year or two. The problem for Liberty is that the world around us is moving at a fast pace: Formula 1 is already behind the curve. F1’s job is not to implement the trend of today or yesterday, but to look at the trends that are starting to emerge.

Dorna held a social media workshop for MotoGP’s teams, which included representatives from Google, Facebook and Twitter. Liberty Media should strongly consider doing the same for Formula 1 if Formula One Management (FOM) have not already. Evidently Dorna’s workshop has helped MotoGP significantly in the past two years to move onto the right track.

Hand-in-hand with social media goes the television rights of today and tomorrow. Should Formula 1’s television rights be less restrictive, meaning that FOM can post more video content during each race weekend? Arguably, yes. This works to the advantage of MotoGP which posts a race incident, in turn going viral to the benefit of all who work within the championship. #SepangClash is the incident I always mention, 15 million views on Facebook is simply an amazing example of something on track going viral. Formula 1 has missed so many golden opportunities to go ‘viral’ this season, thanks to the restrictive television deals in place with the likes of Sky Sports.

To start with here, the idea that Liberty Media is going to rip up any contract in place now or scheduled to begin in the future is nonsense. But, there does need to be a way to allow Formula 1 to flourish on social media with new, innovative and informative content, yet get the big bucks from pay-TV, whilst also keeping the sport accessible to the widest possible audience. It is a fine balance to try to achieve. MotoGP appears to have the social media element built into its television contracts (saying that Dorna is free to exploit MotoGP in video form for X minutes of content on social media), whereas FOM doesn’t have this built into contracts.

Should Formula 1 and Liberty Media take a (slight) financial hit by reducing pay-TV income, thus loosening up on their social media as a result? I think so, but it is not a simple yes or no answer.

Creating global superstars
The ambition of both Formula 1 and MotoGP is to reach as many viewers as possible. Each series has drivers or riders. But beyond them, there are stars that transcend motor sport: Lewis Hamilton, Valentino Rossi, Fernando Alonso and Marc Marquez to name just a few and there are many countless names that have previously done that. A good percentage of viewers watch Formula 1 and MotoGP for the household, blockbuster figures. The ‘Bolt’ of the field. But, what happens when one of those names disappears?

Valentino Rossi has been a house hold name for MotoGP fans for two decades. Soon, his time on the racing circuit will come to end, but MotoGP will continue. Rossi’s reach in MotoGP is comparable to the likes of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in Formula 1. What will happen to MotoGP when Rossi retires?

There’s lots and lots of talent [coming through the MotoGP ranks], the problem is: how do you replace an icon like Valentino Rossi? The honest answer is you don’t. What you have to do is mitigate the effect. So what you want when he goes is a stable, attractive product in place which will retain some of the existing fan base. The idea is people come and see Valentino Rossi, but they stay because they find MotoGP an interesting and exciting sport. – In conversation with David Emmett

In my opinion, an opinion shared by leading paddock voices, is that MotoGP will suffer a short-term dip. But, thanks to the moves Dorna have made in the past few years technically, they are in a much better position to keep their current audience. Can MotoGP have another global superstar like Valentino Rossi? In the next five to ten years it is highly unlikely, but you never know what is around the corner.

Max Verstappen could become Formula 1’s next superstar. Whilst is in everyone’s interests to create a global superstar, as it boosts the sport as a whole in every metric possible, what isn’t in everyone’s interest is to try to force the next superstar onto us. The emergence of Max Verstappen should happen naturally over the next few years, but there is a worry that the bubble could burst before it has started, thanks to the early hype surrounding his Spanish Grand Prix victory and everything following that. Trying to replicate an aura from someone beforehand is dooming to fail.

Overall, although Formula 1 is significantly bigger, MotoGP feels more confident about the direction it is going in thanks to moves made across the board in recent years to increase the competition on the track, whilst increasing pay-TV revenue, yet keeping the sport open via social media. It will be fascinating to see what effect Liberty Media has, if any, on the state of the Formula 1 circus.