Formula E’s World Feed presenter Vernon Kay says he feels as comfortable with the team as he did during his early presenting days when part of the T4 broadcast team.

Kay joined the on-site team at the start of the 2017-18 season, presenting Channel 5’s offering before becoming part of the English-speaking feed alongside Nicki Shields, Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti.

The role was Kay’s first gig within motor sport, following in the footsteps of fellow T4 presenter Steve Jones, who began presenting Channel 4’s F1 offering in 2016.

Speaking to Motorsport Broadcasting ahead of this weekend’s season opener in Diriyah, Kay said that the sport can feel “intimidating,” but that the team have helped him get to grips with Formula E.

“It is an intimidating space when you’ve got all these motor sport nerds,” Kay jokes. “And let’s be honest, motor racing drivers know absolutely everything.”

“You ask me a Family Fortunes question and I’ll give you the top answer any day. But if you ask me what gearbox was in Ayrton Senna’s car in 1983, I am lost! They’ll tell you the answer straightaway.”

“Having people like Jack and Dario with a wealth of motorsport experience, holding your hand and taking the mickey, it really helps.”

“I think we’re a really good team. I feel comfortable, if anything I feel as comfortable in this Formula E team as I did in the T4 team. And that’s where we’re at.”

The transition from entertainment to sport

Prior to Formula E, Kay presented a variety of entertainment shows across the BBC and ITV, including a celebrity version of Family Fortunes for nine years.

In the run up to his first Formula E race in 2017, Kay sought advice from Jones on what to expect, while Kay also gives credit to Jake Humphrey, who followed a similar route into sports presenting.

The three of them made their transition into motor sport from the entertainment world, which Humphrey began in 2009 when he became BBC’s Formula 1 presenter.

“I think there’s a little bit of credit to be given to the hard work that Jake Humphrey put in,” he believes.

“He was the Newsround presenter and then he’s hosting Formula One, and you’re like hang on a minute, ‘how can the kid from Newsround host Formula One?’ But then, Jake smashed it.”

“And in my opinion with his iPad, he redefined sports broadcasting as we know it in the UK, and he did a sterling job and he teed up for people like Steve and then myself.”

“Sport is much more difficult [to present than entertainment] because it’s more reactive. You’re the producer and the director, as well as the host, in my opinion on sport.”

“Steve told me a couple of helpful things before I got into Formula E, which have carried me along. I said Steve, ‘What’s it like?’ ‘It’s going to blow your mind!’ And it did.”

“My first race was in Hong Kong, and I’ll be honest with you, I shat myself. And from that race on, I just thought, wow, this is mad!”

Formula E has a ‘good foundation’ to build on with new Channel 4 deal

Kay believes that the championship now has a ‘good foundation’ to build on because of the new deal with Channel 4, hoping that being on the same station as Formula 1 will only help the series moving forward.

“For me personally, it’s nice to be back on Channel 4, as that’s where I kind of started my career. To have a terrestrial broadcaster that is going to give Formula E to the nation I think it’s really important, with six British drivers in the field.”

“I think to get this deal over the line, both parties have worked really hard.,” he tells me during a media event in London.

“It’s not yet [a teenager], and that’s what people forget. I think sports fans want their sport instantaneously and it’s like, just let it grow and develop. We’re growing and developing as the technology is getting better and more efficient.”

“It’s really exciting times, and especially during the Channel 4 deal, where you’ll get to see the Gen2 car, but also the crossover to the Gen3 car, so it will be a huge compare and contrast. We’ll get to see what we’ve done, and then we’ll get to see the future.”

“I think now that we’ve got a strong base with a good foundation, we can really push and promote Formula E. It’s also nice to be with the same broadcaster that airs Formula One.”

“It means that Channel 4 have a motor sport fanbase, and hopefully, there’ll be some crossover because in my opinion, if you like sport, you like any sport.”

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An audience of nearly 14 million viewers watched Formula 1’s last lap showdown in Abu Dhabi yesterday, across the UK and Netherlands, overnight audience data from the different territories show.

In the Netherlands, where the weekend aired on a free-to-air basis via Ziggo Sport, an average of 4.92 million viewers (an 87.0% audience share) watched Max Verstappen win his first championship from 13:55 to 15:42 on Sunday, according to data publicly available via SKO.

2.37 million viewers (42.1%) watched on Ziggo Sport, while a further 2.54 million viewers (44.9%) watched on Ziggo Sport Select. At its peak, 3.22 million and 3.12 million viewers watched across the two channels, combined to reach a peak audience of 6.34 million viewers.

Showing just how much interest there was in the race, 1.30 million viewers (55.2%) followed the build-up from 12:05 to 13:55 across Ziggo’s two channels, with 3.87 million viewers (70.1%) sticking around post-race from 15:42 onwards.

Qualifying performed well across Ziggo Sport and Ziggo Sport Select. The session averaged 1.47 million viewers (69.5%), peaking with 2.05 million across the two outlets.

Abu Dhabi was the last race for Ziggo under its current arrangement, with F1 rights moving to NENT Group from 2022 in the Netherlands, through the Viaplay platform. However, Ziggo will continue to air highlights following an agreement reached with Viaplay.

Highest UK audience since 2014

Over in the UK, audience figures jumped to their highest level since the 2014 championship decider.

From 12:55 to 15:00, around 5.8 million viewers (52%) watched the F1 broadcasts across Channel 4, Sky Sports F1, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Showcase.

During this time slot, 3.44 million viewers (30.7%) were watching Channel 4, with 2.00 million viewers (17.8%) watching Sky Sports F1 and Main Event. A further audience of around 400,000 watched via Sky Showcase.

A one-minute peak audience of 7.4 million viewers (59.7%) watched at 14:32 as Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap. At the time of the peak, 4.38 million viewers were watching via Channel 4, with 3.02 million viewers watching via Sky’s portfolio of channels.

It is Formula 1’s highest peak audience in the UK since 2014, when a 5-minute peak of 7.9 million viewers watched Hamilton win his second championship in Abu Dhabi.

Despite the free-to-air simulcast on Channel 4, a large number stuck with Sky, the pay TV broadcaster recording their highest ever audience figures for F1, beating their previous record set the previous week in Saudi Arabia.

Channel 4’s audience was also their highest ever for F1, marginally beating their live coverage of the 2018 United States Grand Prix.

Ian Katz, Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, said “Though many British F1 fans will be disappointed, it’s fantastic Channel 4 was able to bring this nail-biting finale to the 2021 F1 Season to 4.4 million free to air and, in partnership with Sky, to an incredible peak audience of 7.4 million.”

“Following on from the return of Test Cricket to free to air television, a remarkable Paralympics and Emma Raducanu’s US Open triumph it was a fittingly dramatic end to an extraordinary year of sport on Channel 4.”

Sky’s CEO Stephen van Rooyen added “Sky has broken its own F1 audience record for a third time this season, Sunday’s stunning spectacle will keep our customers talking about Abu Dhabi until next season rolls around.”

“Sky’s audience peaked at 3m for the first time, and thanks to our partnership with Channel 4 that added up to the 7.4m across the country.”

“It was our gift just in time for Christmas and the drama was gripping, with Sky taking an 18% share of the TV audience combined with our free-to-air partner bringing that up to 44% in total. An astonishing day.”

Elsewhere…

Unsurprisingly, the F1 championship decider drew large audiences across Europe and beyond, however, not every territory saw a boost.

• Australia – F1 fans down under stayed up to watch the action from Abu Dhabi unfold. 135,000 viewers watched the Grand Prix according to The Race Torque, the largest post-midnight race in at least six years, and the third highest F1 audience of 2021.

• Austria – According to DWDL.de, F1 jumped to its biggest audience since the 2000 Austrian Grand Prix. The race aired on ORF2, drawing an average of 1.12 million viewers, equating to a 55% audience share from 14:03 to 15:39. ORF’s pre-race build-up, from 13:07 to 14:03, averaged 478,000 viewers (26%), while 814,000 (41%) remained for post-race analysis from 15:39 to 17:00.

• Belgium – According to CIM, in the north of Belgium, 468,000 viewers watched a 30-minute highlights show on Eén, while 364,000 viewers watched live coverage in the south of Belgium on Tipik.

• Canada – F1 recorded its largest ever audience on TSN, with an average of 667,000 viewers watching the action. In total, TSN’s coverage reached 1.4 million people. Interestingly, TSN notes that their streaming audience has doubled year-on-year, whilst analyst Adam Seaborn added that half of the F1 audience on Sunday were aged between 25 and 54.

• France – Canal+ reported a record audience for their F1 broadcast. An average of 1.91 million viewers watched the race with them, peaking with 2.41 million viewers, a significant uplift on the 2021 season average of 1.14 million viewers.

• Germany – The picture for F1 is bleaker in Germany where, according to Motorsport.com, 951,000 viewers (5.8%) tuned into Sky’s live coverage. The figure increases to 1.3 million viewers when accounting for Sky’s digital platforms which, while good for Sky, pales in comparison with RTL’s historical figures, showing the impact pay TV has had on F1 in Germany this season.

• Italy – The race aired live on free-to-air television on TV8, as well as airing across several Sky channels. Digital News reports that an average of 3.99 million viewers (22.6%) watched across the different outlets, peaking with 4.45 million viewers at 15:11, an increase of 86% year-on-year. Sky’s coverage averaged 1.51 million (8.5%), with a further 2.48 million (14.0%) watching via TV8.

• Poland – Nearly 800,000 viewers tuned into the action on Sunday, data from Nielsen reveals. Live coverage via Eleven Sports averaged 320,000 viewers, with highlights on free-to-air channel Polsat averaging 470,000 viewers.

• Spain – Like Germany, Spain has also suffered with little free-to-air coverage and no drivers at the front of the field. Nevertheless, 602,000 viewers (6.2%) tuned into DAZN’s coverage via their pay TV channel from 14:04 to 15:34, reports FormulaTV. 253,000 viewers (2.2%) stayed with DAZN for their extensive post-race broadcast from 15:34 to 17:22.

• USA – Live coverage on ESPN2 of the race itself averaged 963,000 viewers from 07:55 EST, with 449,000 viewers aged between 18 and 49, a sizeable year-on-year uplift of 84% and 134% respectively. ESPN says that 2021 was the most watched F1 season in the US since 1995.

Across the 12 territories that Motorsport Broadcasting has obtained data for, an audience of 23 million viewers watched the Grand Prix in full. Using the UK uplift as a guide, an audience of at least 30 million watched the final lap showdown.

This excludes many key territories that F1 highlighted in their 2020 data analysis, such as China and Russia, while it also excludes a variety of over-the-top platforms, such as F1 TV. Once F1 adds all the numbers together, it is likely than an audience well more than 100 million viewers watched the season finale last Sunday.

Additional UK data points supplied by Overnights.tv. Thanks to everyone on Twitter who supplied links to information from their own territory.

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This weekend’s Formula 1 championship decider will air live on free-to-air television in the UK after Channel 4 struck a deal with Sky Sports, Motorsport Broadcasting has learnt.

Live coverage of the season finale from Abu Dhabi was set to air exclusively live on Sky Sports, however, the move to air the race on Channel 4 means that millions more fans in the UK will see Max Verstappen go head-to-head with Lewis Hamilton.

Channel 4’s usual Formula 1 partner Whisper will produce wrap-around content, while race commentary will be provided by Sky Sports F1’s David Croft and Martin Brundle.

The move to allow Channel 4 to air some of their own bespoke pre and post-race content, whilst taking Sky commentary is a sensible compromise between the two broadcasters, off the heels of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

A formal press release has yet to be issued by Channel 4, Sky or F1 themselves.

This is not the first time that Channel 4 and Sky have collaborated on bringing sporting events to a wider audience.

In 2019, the free-to-air broadcaster shared live coverage of the Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand with Sky, airing a simulcast of Sky’s broadcast.

Earlier this year, Channel 4 also aired coverage of Emma Raducanu’s victory in the US Open final after striking a late deal with Amazon Prime. Both events peaked with an excess of 8 million viewers.

The last time F1 reached such highs was in 2014, when the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix aired live across BBC One and Sky Sports.

Back then, a peak of 7.9 million viewers, or a 50% audience share, watched Lewis Hamilton win his second championship, fending off competition from Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. F1 will be looking to repeat such highs this weekend.

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, Ziggo have announced that their coverage will be available on a free-to-view basis for the whole weekend.

It means that Formula 1 has a chance of attracting new fans from across the UK and Netherlands with the title showdown this Sunday.

Update on December 9th at 10:25 – Sky Sports and Channel 4 have confirmed yesterday’s news. From 12:00 to 12:15, and from around 15:30, the Whisper team of Steve Jones, David Coulthard, Mark Webber and Lee McKenzie will provide some analysis.

Sky’s coverage will be simulcast on Channel 4 from 12:15 until after the podium, with a full Channel 4 highlights package airing at 17:30. In addition, Sky will air qualifying and the race via their Sky Showcase channel.

Motorsport Broadcasting understands that Channel 4’s coverage of the race itself will be ad-free.

Channel 4’s Chief Executive Alex Mahon said “We are delighted that the whole nation will be able to watch what is set to be one of the most thrilling finales to an F1 season in living memory as Lewis strives to become the most crowned World Champion of all time.”

“After bringing Test cricket to free to air television for the first time in more than a decade, and enabling millions to share the joy of Emma Raducanu’s US Open triumph, we are so pleased to be partnering with Sky to enable the widest possible audience to share this historic sporting moment.”

Stephen van Rooyen, EVP & CEO UK & Europe Sky said: “Sunday’s Grand Prix is one of the biggest sporting events in the last decade, and could be an historic moment for British sport.”

“We’ve chosen to gift the race to the whole country at Christmas through our partnership with Channel 4, so everyone can be part of a huge national moment as Lewis Hamilton goes for a historic eighth World Championship title.”

“The brilliant Sky Sports Formula 1 team will give viewers on Channel 4 and Sky Sports the best insight, commentary and analysis of every twist and turn of this most eagerly anticipated final race of the season.”

“Additionally all Sky TV customers will have live coverage of the important qualifying session on Saturday, and the race on Sunday – which we will also show live on Sky Showcase.”

Formula 1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali added “We are excited that Sky will make the Grand Prix on Sunday available to Channel 4 viewers so everyone can tune in live for the thrilling finale to this epic season.”

“Sky’s passion for Formula 1 is incredible and this generous gesture shows their love of the sport and the millions of fans in the UK. We are all looking forward to Sunday and hope all the fans will be glued to their screens.”

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A dramatic Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw Formula 1’s viewing figures in the UK and the Netherlands surge, audience data from both countries reveal.

According to a press release issued by Sky, an audience of 2.23 million viewers watched the Grand Prix itself across Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event in the UK, excluding the build-up and post-race analysis.

The race peaked with 2.66 million viewers at 19:19 on Sunday as title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went head-to-head.

Both figures are Sky’s highest ever for Formula 1 in the UK, beating the season opener in Bahrain by around 400,000 viewers. It is only the second time in Sky F1’s ten-year history that their coverage has broken the 2 million viewers mark.

Sources indicate that Sky’s coverage reached 3.7 million viewers overall across the F1 channel and Main Event.

While Channel 4’s figures are unknown as of writing, it is likely a combined audience of 4.5 million viewers watched the action unfold on Sunday.

Meanwhile in the Netherlands, a peak audience of 3.71 million viewers watched across Ziggo Sport and Ziggo Sport Select, in their penultimate race covering the sport, according to data released via KijKonderzoek.

An average of 2.75 million viewers watched the action unfold across the two channels, with an audience share of 44.44% (you read that right).

Ziggo’s figure is marginally below the Dutch Grand Prix from September, a race available on a free-to-view basis.

Pressure grows on Sky to make season finale available on free-to-air basis in UK

Back home, pressure is growing on Sky Sports to make the season finale this weekend in Abu Dhabi available on a free-to-air basis.

Both The Times and The Telegraph report that negotiations are underway between Sky and Channel 4 over sharing the live rights to Sunday’s race, however, a decision may not be known until the weekend itself.

Additionally, The Telegraph notes that the likelihood of the race playing out on one of Sky’s own free-to-air channels is declining.

Speaking to this site, a Channel 4 spokesperson said “We are looking forward to showing the highlights of what is set to be a gripping finale to the F1 season.”

Motorsport Broadcasting understands that discussions are also ongoing between Sky and F1, with Sky hoping to air their race day build-up live on YouTube as well as their linear F1 channel.

There is precedence for Channel 4 airing major events live in collaboration with Sky. In 2019, the free-to-air broadcaster shared live coverage of the Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand with Sky, airing a simulcast of Sky’s broadcast.

Earlier this year, Channel 4 also aired coverage of Emma Raducanu’s victory in the US Open final after striking a late deal with Amazon Prime.

Both events peaked with an excess of 8 million viewers, a mouth-watering figure which shows what could be on offer here for F1, if Sky and Channel 4 agree to suitable terms.

What are the sticking points?

The first sticking point in any deal between Sky and Channel 4 is cost. Currently, Sky pays F1 around £166 million for a season of F1 which, in 2021 terms, equates to £7.6 million per race.

It is unclear how much Sky recoup from Channel 4 for their highlights package, but it is likely to be a relatively small figure in comparison.

If one F1 race is worth £7.6 million to Sky, they will likely be looking for Channel 4 to provide them with a multi-million-pound payment to air season finale.

Although the exact terms remained undisclosed, media reports at the time noted that Channel 4’s deal with Amazon went into seven figures.

The Raducanu deal came together less than 24 hours before the event. If the same happens here, it is plausible we will not know whether Channel 4 will cover Sunday’s race live until after qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

Assuming the two parties agree financial terms, the next question to answer is what will Channel 4 air?

When Channel 4 aired live coverage of the Cricket World Cup, the broadcaster took Sky’s broadcast as part of the deal, including graphics and commentary team.

This presents an interesting conundrum for Channel 4, given that Whisper produces Channel 4’s F1 coverage, and is independent from Sky’s own production.

If Channel 4’s only option is to air simulcast Sky’s live offering – do they take it, or walk away? And if they take it, does that negatively impact Channel 4’s relationship with Whisper?

Presenting that scenario to Channel 4 would be an ideal way for Sky to argue that they gave Channel 4 the option to air F1 live, but they failed to take up the offer.

I hope it does not come down to that, but Sky may consider simulcast of their coverage a ‘red line’ in negotiations with Channel 4.

It is all to play for over the next few days, both on and off the circuit.

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