Scheduling: The 2013 Belgian Grand Prix

After a four week Summer break, F1 is back! The drivers and teams head to the Ardennes forest in Belgium for the Belgian Grand Prix from Spa. The race starts the second half of the Formula 1 season with nine races in 13 weeks. Before you know it, it will all be over. Both BBC and Sky are live this weekend, so expect the usual full line-ups from both sides.

Alongside their usual Classic races, Sky are also broadcasting a three-part Lost Generation series, which I have outlined below. Also, in a moment of brilliance, MotoGP clashes with the F1 again, it is not a direct clash as the MotoGP race is in the F1 build-up, but still frustrating if you want to keep track of everything. The day is rounded off with the IndyCar Series from Sonoma, with coverage on ESPN UK.

Saturday 17th August
20:00 to 20:40 – F1: 1985 Belgian Grand Prix Highlights (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and James Hunt
– repeated on Friday 23rd August at 12:05

Sunday 18th August
20:00 to 22:15 – F1: 1998 Belgian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Sunday 25th August at 06:05

Monday 19th August
19:30 to 20:00 – The Lost Generation (1/3) (Sky Sports F1)
– focussing on Roger Williamson
20:00 to 22:00 – F1: 2000 Belgian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Murray Walker and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Friday 23rd August at 18:00

Tuesday 20th August
19:30 to 20:00 – The Lost Generation (2/3) (Sky Sports F1)
– focussing on Tony Brise
20:00 to 22:00 – F1: 2008 Belgian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from James Allen and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Saturday 24th August at 17:15

Wednesday 21st August
19:30 to 20:00 – The Lost Generation (3/3) (Sky Sports F1)
– focussing on Tom Pryce
20:00 to 22:00 – F1: 2010 Belgian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– commentary from Jonathan Legard and Martin Brundle
– repeated on Sunday 25th August at 20:15

Thursday 22nd August
14:00 to 14:45 – F1: Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
19:45 to 20:00 – Gear Up for Belgium (Sky Sports F1)

Friday 23rd August
08:45 to 11:00 – F1: Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
08:55 to 10:35 – F1: Practice 1 (BBC Two)
11:00 to 11:35 – GP2: Practice (Sky Sports F1)
12:45 to 14:50 – F1: Practice 2 (Sky Sports F1)
12:50 to 14:35 – F1: Practice 2 (BBC Two)
14:50 to 15:35 – GP2: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
16:15 to 17:00 – F1: Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
21:00 to 21:45 – F1: 1955 Belgian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
– repeated on Saturday 24th August at 11:15

Saturday 24th August
08:45 to 09:20 – GP3: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
09:45 to 11:10 – F1: Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
09:55 to 11:05 – F1: Practice 3 (BBC Two)
12:00 to 14:35 – F1: Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
12:10 to 14:15 – F1: Qualifying (BBC One)
14:35 to 16:00 – GP2: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
16:15 to 17:05 – GP3: Race 1 (Sky Sports F1)
18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Sunday 25th August
08:20 to 09:05 – GP3: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
09:30 to 10:35 – GP2: Race 2 (Sky Sports F1)
11:30 to 13:00 – MotoGP: Brno (BBC Two)
11:30 to 16:15 – F1: Race (Sky Sports F1)
12:10 to 15:15 – F1: Race (BBC One)
15:15 to 16:15 – F1: Forum (BBC Red Button)
16:15 to 17:00 – GP Uncovered: 1958 Belgian Grand Prix (Sky Sports F1)
21:00 to 00:00 – IndyCars: Sonoma (ESPN)

Wednesday 28th August
19:30 to 20:00 – Midweek Report (Sky Sports F1)

As always, if anything changes I shall update this blog if necessary.

Motor sport ratings (week ending 21st July, 2013)

The second and final week of the first Formula 1 mid-season break meant that MotoGP shined again on BBC Two. This time, the series was in primetime on BBC Two, airing from 22:00 to 23:00 live on Laguna Seca. The programme averaged 1.30 million viewers, which is a 28 percent increase from the Sachensring rating on July 14th. Although up on 2012, it is down on 2009 and 2011.

MotoGP – Laguna Seca ratings
2009 – 1.53 million
2010 – 1.45 million or below
2011 – 1.49 million
2012 – 1.13 million
2013 – 1.30 million

Over on ITV4, the Tour de France came to a conclusion in primetime also on the Sunday. The final stage recorded an average of 1.17 million viewers and peaked with over 2 million viewers as Chris Froome won the tour. The peak was higher than the MotoGP peak. Highlights through the week averaged between 561,000 and 751,000 viewers. The F1 Show Special on Sky Sports F1 failed to bring in any extra viewers than usual with an average of 74,000 viewers. As always, promotion is the issue here – it was never destined to do better than usual because the promotion was level outside of the ‘Sky F1 Twitter bubble’. Nevertheless, 63 percent of those polled on this blog want to see it again, although there are several comments which are definitely worth food for thought should this be done again.

Several repeats of the Goodwood Festival of Speed also made Sky Sports 4 and F1’s top ten ranging from 12,000 to 27,000 viewers. Across four airings, the total was 81,000 viewers. Lastly for the channel, the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix highlights made the top ten with 12,000 viewers on Saturday evening. ESPN’s motor sport contribution to this post comes via Indy Lights highlights which averaged 17,000 viewers on Wednesday 17th July at 21:45. DTM, in the preceding hour, brought 13,000 viewers to the channel.

Motor sport ratings (week ending 14th July, 2013)

With Formula 1 going on its first of two Summer breaks, it meant it was time to shine for some other forms of motor sport, specifically two wheels. Live coverage of MotoGP from the Sachensring in Germany brought an average of 1.01 million viewers to BBC Two from 12:30 to 14:00 according to BARB. This is slightly down on its usual numbers, but not too surprising given the unusually warm British Summer weather as of late. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I dread to think what numbers MotoGP will deliver on BT Sport next year. In my opinion, they are not going to look pretty. Without going into a full blown debate in this post, numbers will more than likely end up below 500,000 viewers with MotoGP being pushed out of the public spotlight. Eurosport’s numbers are unavailable, as are the numbers for BBC’s Red Button service.

Also of interest to motor sport fans on BBC Two was the fantastic Hunt vs Lauda documentary, which acted as a ‘preview’ of Rush, out in cinemas in September. The documentary averaged 2.23 million viewers, slightly above the slot average and benefiting from a Top Gear lead-in of nearly 5 million viewers. Because of that documentary, a repeat airing of Grand Prix: The Killer Years fared brilliantly on BBC Four, averaging 799,000 viewers, making it the most watched programme on the station for the week.

Over on ITV4, the Tour de France again dominated the top ten, with the highlights shows averaging between 463,000 and 698,000 viewers. Live coverage at the weekend averaged 320,000 and 477,000 viewers respectively. Numbers are down on last year, presumably due to no Bradley Wiggins involvement, with highlights shows last year bringing between 650,000 and 850,000 viewers. Sky Sports F1’s highest rated show unsurprisingly was The F1 Show, which averaged 60,000 viewers. All other ratings were under 18,000 viewers as is typical during a non race week. It will be interesting to see if The F1 Show Special did any better than the usual editions. Due to the lack of promotion, I suspect not.

Highlights of the first IndyCar race from Toronto on ESPN averaged 18,000 viewers in the early hours of Sunday morning, whilst live DTM coverage later on at 12:15 brought 15,000 viewers both safely in ESPN’s top ten. I would be surprised if IndyCar’s move to BT Sport 2 for the next race in Mid Ohio changes its fortunes significantly, I imagine you’re looking at similar ratings to now, barring a miracle.

To free or not to free

BT Sport have this evening released an advert promoting their MotoGP coverage which will begin next season. The advert will be seen in several newspapers across the country beginning tomorrow and features Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow. Whilst the advert may be controversial in the wording, the actual visuals and adverts in nationwide newspapers is a fantastic advert for MotoGP itself, and is head and shoulders above the visuals on a similar Sky Sports advert for their Formula 1 coverage.

The main wording on the advert is as follows:

Every Lap Free.
From next season, BT Sport’s new TV channels will have the exclusive rights to all the MotoGP Grand Prix for the next five years, including every warm up, practice, qualifying and race live.
FREE with BT Broadband.
Call 0800 500 240. btsport.com.

The small print is as follows:

Available 1 Aug. Residential broadband customers only. BT broadband customers can watch BT Sport online at home with a minimum line speed of 400kbps. To watch BT Sport online elsewhere you need 3G/4G wifi (charges may apply). To watch BT Sport at btsport.com you need Microsoft Silverlight. The BT Sport App works on iPhone (3GS and above), iPad (iOS 5.1.1 and above) & selected Android devices with OS 4.0. BT Sport is also available on the Sky Digital Platform and on BT TV with Infinity for new and existing broadband customers who sign up for 12 months or have 12 months remaining on their contract, ongoing renewal needed to get free BT Sport. e-billing required. UK only. Terms apply. Please check bt.com/sport for details.

So, the advert makes clear and bold use of the word free several times. The misleading advertising section of the Advertising Standards Authority code is relevant here. I think it is a fine line here between what is and what is not acceptable. What strikes it in the advert though is that it does say that BT Sport is free with BT Broadband. Should the word ‘only’ be added at the end of that sentence? Of course. But BT will say that it does not violate the code as it “make clear the extent of the commitment the consumer must make to take advantage of a “free” offer”. However, where in the small print does it say that the consumer must pay a fee to view BT Sport on BT Infinity or with Sky? It doesn’t. Therefore, the consumer may be misled into thinking that BT Sport is free with Sky. Which, as we know, is incorrect if you do not have BT Broadband.

Another possible point of contention is the idea that the customer could be getting BT Broadband free as a result. I think the consumer would understand that the actual broadband package will cost money, but may still be a point of contention. Whilst the advert is misleading in some ways, I cannot see the advert being pulled. Their adverts have already come under scrutiny, so we shall see what happens.

Analysis: A bitter pill to swallow?

We’ve been here before. And we’re going there again. Except, this time, things appear to be for the worse. Or, is it?

Of course, I’m talking about the Formula 1 rights announcement in July 2011 compared with the MotoGP rights announcement in May 2013. Yesterday, it was announced that BT Sport will be screening MotoGP exclusively live for the next five seasons. The feeling amongst MotoGP fans yesterday can be compared with the feelings of Formula 1 fans on July 29th, 2011. The circumstances behind both deals though, are significantly different. Regular readers of my blog will have seen me revisit the BBC and Sky deal on many occasions, most recently in March. BBC were needing to make cost cuts as a result of the licence fee being frozen, which in real money is a drop in income. As thus, in July 2011, BBC went to Sky asking if they wanted to share the F1 coverage with them. The benefit of that meant that BBC get to keep coverage, whilst cutting costs at the same time, and Sky gained in getting ten races exclusively live. BBC’s Formula 1 contract in 2011 was not due for renewal, as their original contract was set to last until the end of the 2013 season. If they had kept with Formula 1 on an exclusive basis, the rights negotiations between them and Formula One Management would have began in Winter 2012. BBC chose to enter the deal with Sky for Formula 1. Unlike the MotoGP deal, no other bids were invited, despite third parties clearly interested. There was one loser here: the fan, as now only half of Formula 1 races are live on terrestrial television.

In comparison, the current UK MotoGP deal was set to expire at the end of this season, meaning that as per any other broadcasting contract, the rights holder – in this case Dorna – would have sent the contract out to tender. BBC and Eurosport have already confirmed that they bidded unsuccessfully. I think it is fair to assume that their bids would have been slightly higher than previously to cover both of their interests. Neither of their bids (to form a combined bid as their bids would be in tandem) would have been significantly higher than before, though. It would not be in Eurosport’s interests to put in a high bid, I imagine their budget is fairly tight as it is for a channel of their nature. At the same time for reasons already explained, BBC would not be going significantly higher. MotoGP’s ratings have remained stable for many years at just over one million viewers per race, so there is no logical reason for them to bid any higher than they need to. Also, if BBC for example bid £3 million higher than previously and won, it would have meant that the Sports department would have to find savings elsewhere. So in come BT Sport, with a lot of money behind them, and the strength to put in a deal priced at £10 million per year, for arguments purposes. Neither BBC or Eurosport have the ability to put together a response. They have both been priced out the market.

Unfair, you may say, but it was a fair and due diligent process (unlike the ‘behind closed doors, no one else invited’ BBC and Sky deal). It does not mean that fans should like it, though. Of course, BT Sport should not be the enemy here, the majority of complaints should go to Dorna. They could have said to BT Sport “well we’re sorry, but you do not provide free-to-air coverage to over 90 percent of the United Kingdom, therefore we are sticking with BBC and Eurosport”. They didn’t. As always in the broadcasting world, money wins and fans lose. If Dorna really cared about the fans, they would have stuck with those that have provided coverage to the masses many years previously: BBC and Eurosport. Yes, neither have provided the interactive features and so and so forth. But for me, free to air and terrestrial television coverage is absolutely fundamental even in the digital age for motorcycling to succeed in this country. I would like to be proven wrong and be back here next April writing an article saying “One million viewers watch the Qatar Grand Prix on BT Sport”. I doubt it, unfortunately. I won’t be one of the ones switching over to BT Sport from August. This is not a battle of BT Sport vs Sky Sports. This is a battle of broadband providers, as was clearly evident in the free marketing unveiled yesterday.

An interesting question to ask is whether Dorna had any bids from another other broadcasters. Broadcasters never tend to say whether they put in a failed bid for something, unless they were the current contract holders. Starting with the terrestrials, I do not think ITV would have put in a bid, as MotoGP would have clashed on the majority of occasions with the British Touring Car Championship, which itself is now in a perfect position to become the second most popular form of motor sport on TV in this country. Channel 5 I doubt would afford it whilst Channel 4 is an unknown. The other possibility is Sky Sports. A few motorcycling personalities on Twitter at the latter end of 2012 making noises about Sky and motorcycle racing. I put in a request to Sky to ask if they did bid for the rights, but as of writing I have yet to receive a reply.

I think the fact that every MotoGP race will be exclusively live on BT Sport makes this an even worse pill to swallow than the BBC and Sky Sports F1 deal back in 2011. A lot of people inside the business will spin this as if it is some kind of good deal for MotoGP, but any deal which slashes your audience instantly is not a good one. In my opinion, a lot of people will see BT as the next ITV Digital/Setanta Sports/ESPN. Dorna have questions to answer on why they appear to have gone back on their 2008 intent of keeping MotoGP free-to-air. I always had MotoGP down as one motor sport which considered its fans first, with its fan friendly social media output and the such like. It appears, now that is not quite the case. Today, or at least when the chequered flag in Valencia, MotoGP may be one fan less. Or, at least 900,000 fans less in this country. I have e-mailed Dorna to see if there are any plans for a terrestrial television highlights package for 2014 onwards for those fans that will soon turn into ‘lapsed fans’ as a result of this deal. As always, I will post on here if I get a response.