ITV lose WRC highlights to Channel 5

Original article on January 5th – ITV has extended its respective contracts to broadcast highlights of both the MotoGP and World Rally Championship, The F1 Broadcasting Blog can confirm, except the latter it appears will also be shown on Channel 5.

Highlights of both series will be broadcast on ITV4. It takes their MotoGP deal into a third year, with this being ITV’s fourth season of covering the World Rally Championship.

An ITV spokesperson told this blog that they had “acquired” both contracts.

Update on January 8th – Well, well, well. ITV Press Office said the above to me on Tuesday. Except Channel 5 have tonight released programme information for the week beginning January 23rd. In it, there is a section entitled “World Rally Championship”, with a note at the bottom saying that Channel 5’s programming will be presented by John Desborough and Kevin Piper. I assume Channel 5’s coverage will be highlights only, but that is not made clear in the release.

What is also now unclear is whether ITV4 will indeed be broadcasting highlights of the World Rally Championship this year. I will chase that up and post as soon as I hear an answer…

Updated on January 11th – I have had an update from both ITV and Channel 5. A Channel 5 spokeswoman told this blog that their World Rally Championship programme “is highlights coverage. It will be on Channel 5.” The spokeswoman added that they were unable to confirm what day, but will be able to update on Wednesday when the final schedules for the Monte Carlo rally week are released. An ITV spokesperson gave a similar answer with regards the final schedules. But for the moment, it certainly appears that both channels are screening highlights of the World Rally Championship this season.

Update on January 15th – Confirmation from Channel 5 through a press release. The release notes that a preview show will begin tomorrow at 13:00 on Spike TV, whilst there will be daily highlights and live coverage of the Power Stage at the Wales Rally GB.

Update on January 19th – I have scoured ITV4’s schedules for next week and cannot find a mention anywhere of the World Rally Championship highlights. I think it is safe to say that they in fact do not have the rights, which is disappointing considering this site was told directly the opposite by ITV’s Press Office two weeks ago. Obviously I’m now somewhat concerned about the MotoGP rights too, so I will be chasing that with ITV as well.

Update on January 30th – ITV have apologised for the earlier error regarding the World Rally Championship rights. A spokesperson told me on Thursday: “We have had the rights to the World Rally Championship Highlights for a few years now, however, Channel 5 have now acquired the rights from this season. I am sorry for any disappointment caused. I have contacted our sports department who have advised me that we are hoping to have the MotoGP Highlights again this year.”

That last line is critical, as it means that ITV have not yet secured MotoGP highlights for this season. Could Channel 5 end up snatching them away from ITV as well?

Update on March 2nd – Highlights of MotoGP are definitely staying with ITV4. The channel has also acquisitioned highlights of the Superbike World Championship.

MotoGP finale peaks with 433k on BT Sport

A peak audience of 433k watched Jorge Lorenzo clinch the 2015 MotoGP championship live on BT Sport, overnight viewing figures show.

MotoGP and Moto3 hit BT Sport highs
Live coverage of the final MotoGP round of the season from Valencia averaged 345k (3.3%) from 12:30 to 14:00 on BT Sport 2, peaking with 433k (3.9%) in the 5-minute period from 13:40. Unsurprisingly, the peak figure is nearly triple last year’s peak of 151k (1.5%) when the title had already been decided.

The Moto3 race, which saw Danny Kent claim Britain’s first Grand Prix motorcycle title since 1977, peaked with 217k (2.4%) at 10:40. The entire programme, excluding Chequered Flag from 09:30 to 14:15, averaged a strong 205k (2.1%). ITV4’s highlights programme actually fared worse than BT Sport’s live MotoGP race. An average audience of 331k (1.5%) watched ITV4’s highlights on Monday evening at 20:00, peaking with 381k (1.7%) in the 5-minutes from 20:35. ITV4’s MotoGP shows have performed worse year-on-year, for the Monday airings at least, with the pendulum swinging towards BT Sport – noticeably there is now around a 50/50 audience split between the two broadcasters, something that was not the case last year.

It should be noted that ITV4 have added a lot of MotoGP repeats into their schedule this year, but my motto is not to add in multiple highlights, otherwise where do you stop? In 2013, when Marc Marquez beat Lorenzo to the championship, an average audience of 1.21m (11.9%) watched on BBC Two, with a peak of 1.49m (14.0%) recorded. Including British Eurosport, that number jumps to around 1.7m. The combined peak in 2015 of 814k is not the highest under this current contract, that honour remains with Qatar 2014 which recorded a combined peak of 833k. So viewing figures for the finale were down around half what they were in 2013, on your traditional devices at least.

I believe Sunday’s figures were BT Sport’s highest ever outside of football, so they will be happy with the numbers. As always, all figures exclude the BT Sport app and similarly BBC iPlayer from 2013.

Formula E struggles, but up year-on-year
Elsewhere, live coverage of Formula E from Putrajaya averaged just 23k (1.6%) from 05:00 to 07:30 on Saturday on ITV4. That number includes anyone who recorded the live programme and watched it before 02:00 on Sunday morning. The audience peaked (5-minute measure) with 58k (4.9%) ten minutes into the race. Last year, Putrajaya averaged 66k (5.1%), peaking with 137k (7.2%).

Highlights on Sunday morning fared significantly better, benefiting from the slot on ITV’s flagship channel. An audience of 201k (2.8%) watched, which compares with the 95k (0.5%) that watched ITV4’s highlights programme on Saturday evening last year. Formula E’s figures can be spun two different ways. Here are the facts. ITV4’s live coverage, in an identical slot to 2014, dropped 65 percent year-on-year, a very similar percentage drop to Beijing two weeks ago. Including the highlights show, the combined audience is up 40 percent year-on-year, from 160k to 224k.

It is a confusing picture. On one hand you can say, that the combined number is up or you can say that the live airing is down. What you also need to remember is the respective channel slot averages. By default, a programme airing on ITV should get a lot more viewers than on ITV4. However, Formula E’s number of 201k (2.8%) is down on ITV’s slot average. I think Punta del Este will tell a clearer story. My own opinion is that the numbers so far for Formula E’s second season are not good. Punta will either confirm that, or reverse the decline shown for the live numbers on ITV4.

There’s an interesting pattern here. Formula E, MotoGP and BTCC have recorded drops on ITV4 this year/recently, which could imply a wider issue to do with the broadcaster itself rather than an issue with a particular series…

A lesson in how to direct a motor race

Today’s MotoGP championship decider has itched out all emotions, ranging from jubilation to disgust, depending on which side of the fence you are on. But that is not the subject of this blog, there are many writers out there that will no doubt discuss the ramifications of past three weeks across the winter months.

This post is about one topic: the direction from Dorna. On many occasions, I have typed up words about the lack of coherent direction from multiple racing series, whether it is a battle for the lead that has been missed, or angles that served no purpose. It is important also to recognise when the pictures are spot on. Today, was that day.

You had Jorge Lorenzo at the front. You had Valentino Rossi at the back, looking to carve his way through the field. A near impossible job for the director was made to look easy. As a motor racing fan, at too many points this year have myself and others been shouting at races, for directors to focus on the right bit of the action. Dorna seamlessly went from shot to shot in Valencia, like a musical that hit every note pinch perfect. They displayed a master-class, from the first corner right through to chequered flag.

The helicopter cut as the bikes made their way off the grid would have been ridiculed under normal circumstances. But today was no normal circumstances. What the helicopter shot showed was the progress that Rossi had made in a short period of time and was used effectively throughout the first couple of laps. Dorna captured the majority of Rossi’s moves live, whilst also keeping one eye on the action at the front of the field. The graphics helped put the action into context: the live championship standings, plus the gap between Rossi and Lorenzo, later Rossi and Pedrosa. I thought Dorna were close to faultless today, handling the first portion of the race extremely well.

It was a pleasure and a relief to be shouting at the TV, not at the poor direction for once, but at the characters on the track telling the story.

Other series, take note.

Scheduling: The 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix

Both titles may have been won, but there are two more races still to go as the Formula 1 paddock heads to Interlagos for the Brazilian Grand Prix. All the action for this round and Abu Dhabi will be live on both BBC and Sky Sports.

I have listed Inside F1 instead of F1 Focus because the latter is not currently scheduled on the Red Button for this upcoming week. As mentioned before, I don’t know if F1 Focus is a replacement for Inside F1 but time will tell, I’ll update the below if F1 Focus appears anywhere. With it being a BBC live weekend, expect Eddie Jordan to be back with the team. Given the way things went in USA, BBC probably wish they had Jordan with them for Austin, but that is the luck of the draw.

Over on Sky, Natalie Pinkham has not travelled to a Grand Prix since Singapore, although she has presented The F1 Show recently and has been part of a few features here and there (notably Fogglebox, filmed during the US Grand Prix). I would be surprised to see her in Brazil, but she should be back with the team in Abu Dhabi, I imagine. This also explains why Rachel Brookes and Craig Slater have been more involved recently. The edition of Architects of F1 with Flavio Briatore is back in the schedule, scheduled for straight after the Grand Prix on Sunday. It was originally scheduled for post-Mexico, but was moved to the Brazil schedule instead.

Elsewhere, BT Sport are covering MotoGP testing live this week, with Dorna’s World Feed crew staying in Valencia to film the post-season test from Valencia on Tuesday and Wednesday. The channel is also running a ‘Motorsport Weekend’ with reviews of the series that they cover, such as the aforementioned MotoGP along with IndyCar and Blancpain GT. Guests will appear throughout both live programmes, including Nick Tandy and Moto3 champion Danny Kent.

BBC F1
BBC TV – Sessions
13/11 – 11:55 to 13:45 – Practice 1 (BBC Two)
13/11 – 15:45 to 17:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Two)
14/11 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Two)
14/11 – 15:10 to 17:20 – Qualifying (BBC One)
15/11 – 15:20 to 18:00 – Race (BBC One)
15/11 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Forum (BBC Red Button)

BBC Radio – Sessions
14/11 – 16:00 to 17:15 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
15/11 – 16:00 to 18:06 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Supplementary Programming
12/11 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
13/11 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
14/11 – 11:55 to 12:55 – F1 Rewind: Great Results (BBC Two)
14/11 – 19:45 to 20:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
13/11 – 11:45 to 13:50 – Practice 1
13/11 – 15:45 to 18:00 – Practice 2
14/11 – 12:45 to 14:15 – Practice 3
14/11 – 15:00 to 17:45 – Qualifying
15/11 – 14:30 to 19:15 – Race
=> 14:30 – Track Parade
=> 15:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 15:30 – Race
=> 18:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
12/11 – 13:00 to 13:30 – Driver Press Conference
12/11 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut: Brazil
13/11 – 18:00 to 18:45 – Team Press Conference
13/11 – 20:00 to 21:00 – The F1 Show
15/11 – 19:15 to 20:15 – Architects of F1: Flavio Briatore
18/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report

MotoGP – Testing (BT Sport 1)
10/11 – 09:00 to 12:00 – Day 1: Morning
10/11 – 13:00 to 16:00 – Day 1: Afternoon
11/11 – 09:00 to 12:00 – Day 2: Morning
11/11 – 13:00 to 16:00 – Day 2: Afternoon

Motorsport Weekender (BT Sport 1)
14/11 – 16:30 to 20:00 – Part 1
15/11 – 11:30 to 14:30 – World Rally Championship
15/11 – 14:30 to 18:30 – Part 2

As always, I will update the schedule if any amendments need to be made.

Update on November 14th – BBC Radio’s Qualifying coverage will be on 5 Live Sports Extra now due to the events over the past twelve hours in Paris.

BT Sport’s MotoGP coverage: Your 2015 Verdict

The 2015 MotoGP season has come to a nail-biting conclusion in Valencia with Jorge Lorenzo winning the championship at the last opportunity! Controversial, tense, thrilling, many superlatives can describe this year. It also brings to an end BT Sport’s second season of covering MotoGP, having taken over the rights from the BBC. Viewing figures have increased significantly year-on-year, and whilst they are still down on BBC’s numbers by some margin, more people have been following BT’s coverage.

This year has not been a roller-coaster for the team like 2014, instead we have had the same stable line-up throughout the year fronted by Abi Griffiths and Craig Doyle, with Keith Huewen and Julian Ryder commentating on each and every lap. 2015 also saw the first MotoGP race broadcast in Ultra HD, the British MotoGP back in August.

Now, it is your chance to have your say: what did BT Sport do better this year than 2014, and what aspects of the coverage do they need to improve on further? How well have BT covered the drama in your eyes, or have you been reliant on ITV4’s highlights on Monday evenings? How can BT Sport build on 2015’s numbers heading into 2016?

The best thoughts from this blog post will be trimmed and sliced into a new article in a couple of weeks time.