2016 has been a record-breaking year for The F1 Broadcasting Blog, with nearly half a million hits from readers far and wide. As always, readers have accessed the site in a variety of ways. It hasn’t been much of a surprise to see the huge numbers: after all, 2016 saw a change of free-to-air broadcaster in the United Kingdom, which was followed by Sky’s shock announcement in March. From the perspective of this site, that is as big as you can get.

Outside of the United Kingdom, the audience reading this site from the USA, Ireland and Netherlands has increased. Since 2014, the amount of traffic coming from the Netherlands has almost doubled, something which can probably be said for many motor racing websites out there in 2016. It is the second year in a row that the blog audience has become more diverse, with the UK’s percentage dropping from 75 percent in 2014 to 74.3 percent in 2015 and now 72.7 percent in 2016.

Top 10 Countries – Percentage of all hits
01 – 72.7 percent (2015: 74.3) – United Kingdom
02 – 5.4 percent (2015: 3.8) – United States
03 – 2.7 percent (2015: 2.4) – Australia
04 – 2.3 percent (2015: 2.0) – Ireland
05 – 1.8 percent (2015: 1.3) – Netherlands
06 – 1.6 percent (2015: 1.5) – Canada
07 – 1.0 percent (2015: 1.0) – Spain
08 – 0.9 percent (2015: 0.8) – France
09 – 0.9 percent (2015: 1.0) – Germany
10 – 0.8 percent (2015: 0.9) – Italy

Surprisingly, the number of people coming to the site from search engines dropped in 2016 when comparing against other sources. Proportionally more people are heading to the site from Twitter and Reddit, which is good as it shows that social media (especially Twitter) works when publishing to those platforms.

Top 5 Referring Websites
01 – 63.1 percent (2015: 71.7) – Search engines
02 – 21.8 percent (2015: 17.0) – Twitter
03 – 6.0 percent (2015: 3.1) – Reddit
04 – 3.5 percent (2015: 1.9) – Facebook
05 – 1.0 percent (2015: 1.7) – F1Fanatic.co.uk

Given the biggest change this year, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see what topic dominates the top ten search queries.

Top 10 Search Queries
01 – f1 broadcasting
02 – f1 broadcasting blog
03 – channel 4 f1
04 – motors tv
05 – channel 4 f1 presenters
06 – f1
07 – channel 4 f1 team
08 – motors tv sky
09 – f1broadcasting
10 – c4f1

A lot of you headed straight to this site to find out news about Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage in the early part of 2016, which is reflected in the search numbers above. For what it is worth, Channel 4’s new Formula 1 presenter Steve Jones doesn’t feature in around the top 50 search queries, with more people reaching this site by searching for the likes of Tom Clarkson and Martin Brundle. The other main subject which cropped up throughout the year was Motors TV, the channel disappearing and reappearing on a few occasions.

Statistics compiled and correct as of December 23rd, 2016.

The F1 Broadcasting Blog continues to go from strength to strength and today marks the sites fourth birthday. The past few months have seen the site break milestones and set new records on the backdrop of two new UK F1 broadcasting deals that have elicited reaction from far and wide.

Here are some of the key performance indicators for the site:

– Total of 1.2 million hits
– 240000 hits so far in 2016
– 57000 unique visitors in March

I never set KPI targets simply because you do not know what is round the corner, the site traffic ebbs and flows depending on what is topical within the motor sport broadcasting world.

As some of you know this site is run single-handed, which has been the case since the site was founded in April 2012. The reward is the comments, the feedback and praise from those within the industry and beyond. The reward is the invitation to press days: such as Channel 4’s Formula 1 media morning last month which was a pleasure to attend from start to finish, for that, I thank them.

Writing and editing this site is just as rewarding and exciting today as it was on day one. I don’t need or have to write this, but I do so because I enjoy it. It is an area that interests me alongside my full-time day job (that is: data science). Readers may have noticed some changes over the past few months: the layout change, domain change, and advertising. But the fundamentals of this website remain the same: it will always be broadcasting based and it will always be my honest opinion and analysis.

Inevitably there is only a finite amount that can be covered in the time available meaning that some topics have been neglected so far this year. Now that the frantic period within the UK F1 broadcasting scene is over, expect the variety of posts to slowly return in forthcoming weeks as my batteries recharge and the motor racing season is getting into its element.

As always thank you for reading and supporting the blog throughout the past four years!

Thanks
Dave

The F1 Broadcasting Blog recorded just shy of 300,000 hits in 2015. In the last month or so, there has been one major talking point which plays a small part in the top ten below. Formula E, MotoGP, social media, viewing figures and Sky Sports Darts were a few of the topics covered on the blog in 2015.

10. Poll: Which F1 graphics set do you prefer? – March 17th
One of the main conversations in early 2015 was the new graphics set unveiled by Formula One Management (FOM) alongside their website and social media overhaul. Here, I asked readers which FOM graphics set they preferred, comparing the five different overlays.

9. Sky Sports Darts to replace the F1 channel during Christmas – November 7th
A popular post in the latter stages of 2015, as visitors wondered where the station had wandered off too. The good news is that the F1 channel will be back on Tuesday 5th January covering the 2016 season.

8. UK F1 TV viewing figures drop to eight year low – December 5th
Viewing figures are interesting given that they can either reflect interest or apathy in a product. As the headline shows, Formula 1’s overnight viewing figures hit their lowest level since 2007 despite Lewis Hamilton claiming a third championship. Whether the drop in numbers helped determine certain decisions that were made, who knows…

7. Report: ITV to take over BBC’s F1 TV coverage from 2016 – December 17th
…twelve days after the above and eight days before Christmas, it was reported by Broadcast that ITV were set to take over BBC’s Formula 1 television coverage from the 2016 season. My gut instinct was that Broadcast was right. As it turned out, they were wrong, and we would instead be welcoming Channel 4 to Formula 1.

6. Quick thoughts on the latest BBC F1 speculation – November 18th
The first hint of some change concerning BBC’s F1 coverage. The initial wave of articles did not indicate that 2016’s coverage was under threat. We found that out one day later. BBC officially confirmed their exit from covering Formula 1 on television on December 21st.

5. Sky Sports unveil 2015 pre-season trailer – February 28th
#TheChasingPack, Sky Sports F1’s 2015 pre-season trailer, was unveiled at the end of February, designed to show a pack of wolves chasing the pack leader. The trailer garnered a lot of reaction on this site and on social media, hence its high ranking for the year overall.

4. New F1 graphics set coming for 2015 – March 11th
News that FOM were overhauling the Formula 1 graphics came before the Australian Grand Prix, with a rolling blog post created as more detail came in. A poll on this site showed that the graphics set was well received on the whole, with 68 percent approval.

3. BBC confirm 2015 plans as Sky drops online Race Control – March 5th
The final BBC and Sky F1 details for 2015 were confirmed, as Sky dropped their online Race Control offering. The piece noted that “BBC’s web offering for their live races will now be more expansive than Sky’s.” One has to wonder how Channel 4 will compare in 2016…

2. Revamped Formula 1 website unveiled – March 9th
Only 44 hits behind the eventual winner, falling behind in the final hours of 2015 is the official Formula 1 website relaunch, which coincided with FOM increasing activity on YouTube and Instagram. The website received a satisfactory response from readers, with 48 percent liking the website compared to its predecessor.

1. Predicting Channel 4’s Formula 1 team (part 1) – December 22nd
The most read story of 2015 (by a whisker) following the announcement made the day before. It was time to start predicting Channel 4’s Grand Prix team. I doubt we will hear anything firm about what Channel 4 have to offer until at least the end of January.

The stage is set for 2016, as Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage begins with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday 20th March.

My fourth calendar year of running The F1 Broadcasting Blog is coming to an end. The past month and a half has been more packed and crammed than the previous ten months combined, but that is the way the broadcasting land works. You just never know what might come next! I’d like to wish all my blog readers and beyond a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanks for all the comments and thoughts throughout the year, it is much appreciated as the blog speeds into 2016. Unfortunately, some battles were lost this year, and some battles continue. Jules and Justin: we remember you. And almost two years on: #KeepFightingMichael.

The start of 2016 looks set to be fascinating as Channel 4 unveil their Formula 1 line-up. For the moment, please stay safe over the holiday period and I hope 2016 gives us a lot more to talk about.

Cheers,
Dave
Owner of The F1 Broadcasting Blog

Over the Christmas and New Year period, I tend to post a bit on how the blog has performed across the year. This particular post I normally push online in the lull between Christmas and New Year. The news this past Monday means no such lull exists this year. I am splitting the Channel 4 posts up so they are not all going online in one block. As a side note, if anyone has noticed that something has not been updated yet on the blog, please give me a shout and I will endeavour to update it.

Off the back of the BBC and Sky Sports deal in 2011, The F1 Broadcasting Blog launched in April 2012, and has since amassed nearly close to one million views, with just shy of 500,000 visitors in total. But just where do the visitors come from, and how do readers access the blog?

The site in 2015 has attracted nearly 280,000 hits, which works out at around 770 views a day. That is a decrease of around 100,000 hits year-on-year, as (until last Monday) 2014 was the more eventful year from a broadcasting perspective. The raw percentage of people accessing from the United Kingdom has dropped slightly again, that also is the case in the United States. The biggest jumps come from Australia, Netherlands and Spain.

Top 10 Countries – Percentage of all hits
01 – 74.3 percent (2014: 75.0) – United Kingdom
02 – 3.8 percent (2014: 5.8) – United States
03 – 2.4 percent (2014: 1.7) – Australia
04 – 2.0 percent (2014: 2.0) – Ireland
05 – 1.5 percent (2014: 1.5) – Canada
06 – 1.3 percent (2014: 1.0) – Netherlands
07 – 1.0 percent (2014: 0.7) – Spain
08 – 1.0 percent (2014: 0.9) – Germany
09 – 0.9 percent (2014: 0.9) – Italy
10 – 0.8 percent (2014: 0.9) – France

The amount of people coming to the website from search engines has dropped compared with 2014, whilst the proportion of users coming from Twitter has increased again. As mentioned earlier, the lack of a big story early in the year meant that there was not as much activity, comparatively speaking year-on-year. No doubt that will change in early 2016…

Top 5 Referring Website
01 – 71.7 percent (2014: 73.5) – Search engines
02 – 17.0 percent (2014: 13.2) – Twitter
03 – 3.1 percent (2014: 2.9) – Reddit
04 – 1.9 percent (2014: 2.9) – Facebook
05 – 1.7 percent (2014: 2.8) – F1Fanatic.co.uk

The top ten search queries makes for interesting reading, with some similarities compared with 2014, and one surprising entry.

Top 10 Search Queries
01 – f1 broadcasting
02 – f1 broadcasting blog
03 – tom clarkson
04 – tom clarkson f1
05 – gary anderson f1
06 – simon lazenby
07 – bbc f1
08 – f1 viewing figures
09 – sky f1 channel
10 – a1 gp

A lot of references to BBC’s Formula 1 coverage in there, with Tom Clarkson and Gary Anderson making the list. Despite the whole Anderson story happening in early 2014, it clearly still had an effect on the 2015 numbers, presumably people were keen to see what Anderson has been up to this season, if anything. Everything is Formula 1 related, and then at the bottom of the top ten you have ‘a1 gp’! Weirdly, the stats for the one A1 Grand Prix article on the site shows that particular piece spikes during Formula E weekends, you can read into that what you will.

The top ten articles published during 2015 will be summarised on New Year’s Eve. I suspect the current top ten will change drastically between now and then, but we shall see.

Statistics compiled and correct as of December 23rd, 2015.