BBC and Sky confirm 2015 coverage details

BBC Sport and Sky Sports have today confirmed their 2015 calendar picks. The picks are as follows:

2015 Schedule Details
March 15th – Australia (Melbourne) – Sky
March 29th – Malaysia (Sepang) – BBC and Sky
April 12th – China (Shanghai) – Sky
April 19th – Bahrain (Sakhir) – BBC and Sky
May 10th – Spain (Barcelona) – Sky
May 24th – Monaco (Monaco) – Sky
June 7th – Canada (Montreal) – BBC and Sky
June 21st – Austria (Red Bull Ring) – Sky
July 5th – Britain (Silverstone) – BBC and Sky
July 19th – Germany (TBA) – Sky
July 26th – Hungary (Budapest) – BBC and Sky
August 23rd – Belgium (Spa) – BBC and Sky
September 6th – Italy (Monza) – Sky
September 20th – Singapore (Marina Bay) – Sky
September 27th – Japan (Suzuka) – BBC and Sky
October 11th – Russia (Sochi) – BBC and Sky
October 25th – USA (Circuit of the Americas) – Sky
November 1st – Mexico (Mexico City) – Sky
November 15th – Brazil (Interlagos) – BBC and Sky
November 29th – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) – BBC and Sky

Both teams appear to be the same as in 2014, with Sky confirming their team on the website. Interestingly, there are no changes, although I assume that Natalie Pinkham will not be travelling to the early races with Sky. The F1 Show will be returning to the channel (date TBC) along with GP2 and GP3, but testing will not be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Live updates however will be provided on Sky Sports News. Following clarification with Sky, the mention of “live pre-season testing from Barcelona and Jerez in February” in the press release refers to the live updates on Sky Sports News only.

BBC’s Head of F1, Ben Gallop said: “Like all F1 fans, we can’t wait for the 2015 season. With Lewis Hamilton as World Champion, F1 in Britain is in a great position and we’re delighted with our race package. These live races, combined with our ever-popular highlights programmes and our extensive coverage on radio and online means F1 fans can follow every step of Hamilton’s title defence on the BBC.”

Sky Sports F1’s executive producer Martin Turner said: “All eyes are on world champion Lewis Hamilton and Sky Sports F1 will be the only place to follow every race of his title defence. There are so many exciting story lines next season and we’ll cover every twist and turn from Australia to Abu Dhabi.”

There is no major surprises above. Bahrain may be considered a surprise, however it has a more prominent slot now which justifies BBC showing it live. I find it interesting how BBC are showing four out of the ten European races live, their first European race is not until July. In general, the BBC picks are more lop-sided towards the latter half of the season, which makes sense considering how the 2014 title race went. For those unfamiliar, the pick order goes as follows:

– BBC pick 1, 2 and 3
– Sky pick 4, 5 and 6
– BBC pick 7
– Sky pick 8

Shockingly, I predicted 14 out of the 20 picks correctly, which is pleasing! What this does mean is that, there is not a lot to change from my guesstimates to reality. As predicted, BBC picked Britain, Abu Dhabi and Brazil, presumably learning from their mistake in 2014 where Brazil was concerned. Sky countered with USA and Mexico, at this point things diverged. I predicted that Sky would take Canada ahead of Monaco. As it turned out, Sky considered Monaco ahead of Canada, presumably because Monaco is a blue ribboned event and is good for advertising and press releases.

So, BBC at this stage went for Canada in my opinion. I thought Sky would go for Bahrain, but again Australia is probably the better pick because of its season opening slot, with BBC grabbing Bahrain. Bahrain previously would be one of the least preferred races, but its mid-afternoon slot, and potentially the great 2014 race, has upped its stock. Sky picking Spain is surprising given that BBC have aired it live from 2012 to 2014, so that must have been earlier in the pick process. From there, the picks alternate between the two sides until all races have been picked.

I think both sides will be pleased with how things have turned out. The important thing for the BBC was getting a good run in, which they have with four of the last six races live, whilst Sky have the season opener and Monaco.

Looking ahead to 2015

2014 has been a fascinating year in the world of motor sport broadcasting, from the launch of BT Sport’s MotoGP series to the launch of the Formula E series. 2015 looks like it will be another intriguing year with plenty of news lines heading into the New Year and beyond.

Something I was expecting to be announced last week did not happen. Normally, the BBC and Sky 2015 picks are revealed before Christmas, as has been the case previously. Presumably, the reason for the delay is because neither broadcaster expects Korea to appear in the finalised calendar. I would be surprised if there was a separate reason, but we shall see. The picks will need to be confirmed in the first few weeks of January, so that both sides can start publicity, in particular Sky where their exclusive races are concerned.

Another story that will be followed throughout the first few months of 2015 are the Premier League highlights rights, which went out to tender recently. The Guardian reported in November that ITV are going to bid for the highlights contract. It goes without saying that the Premier League highlights, through their Match of the Day brand, is the most important contract that BBC Sport currently hold. Any attempt to destabilise BBC Sport’s portfolio could have major consequences. The early rumour was that Wimbledon could be split between BBC and BT Sport, although this has been denied. Let us hope that any change does not effect the current BBC F1 package…

Formula One Management’s social media expansion is set to continue into 2015, with the relaunch of Formula1.com. What exactly will the new website bring? Furthermore, based on Marissa Pace’s recent comments, we may well see an official Formula 1 channel on YouTube in 2015. Elsewhere, BT Sport’s MotoGP coverage enters year two, and Formula E will be entering year two in September. From a UK perspective, I hope year two remains live on ITV, but we won’t know the answer to that question for many months yet. 2015 looks set to be another intriguing year on and off the track as Formula 1 heads into its second season with the V6 power units.

Series 2 of Racing Legends on BBC Two

The second series of Racing Legends begins tonight on BBC Two. The first series aired during December 2012 and January 2013 (see here and here), profiling Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart and Colin McRae.

Series 2 features Vic Reeves telling the story of motorcycling legend Barry Sheene. Sheene’s episode airs tonight at 21:05 on BBC Two. Episodes 2 and 3 have no transmission date as of writing, but feature Jeremy Irons profiling Graham Hill and Paul Hollywood meeting John Surtees.

I’ll update this post as and when scheduling details for the final two episodes are confirmed.

Update on December 30th – Episodes 2 and 3 have been brought forward it appears, with episode two airing on Sunday 4th January at 21:00 on BBC Two. The reason for this is that the original programme set to air in that slot, Reinventing the Royals, has been pulled for legal reasons.

The best and worst of BBC’s F1 coverage in 2014

The ratings picture that I published a few days ago showed that BBC’s Formula 1 viewing figures have dropped 5.9 percent on 2013, despite Formula 1 crowning a British World Champion.

But, why has that happened? There are several reasons why people have tuned out of BBC’s product in my opinion. However, on the other hand, there are some areas where the BBC continue to excel in. Instead of doing a blow-by-blow review of each individual member of BBC’s F1 team, and then again with Sky, I’m going to pick out the best and worst parts of their coverage this year, mainly to keep the content fresh, but also because of time constraints on my behalf. As mentioned previously, I’d like to cover NBC’s Off the Grid and The Road to Mercedes in the next few weeks, if time allows.

Best
Suzi Perry
Yesterday, I was having a quick flick through the BBC’s 2013 F1 Preview magazine. In it was a section with Ben Gallop, BBC’s Head of F1, who explained that, when picking Jake Humphrey’s successor, they did not want a “Jake 2”, but rather someone who would bring something fresh to the table. I said that Suzi Perry’s 2013 season was mediocre, also noting that there should be big improvements in 2014.

For me, Perry has been much better on the microphone this season, and has built great rapport with David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan throughout the course of the season. I think it has helped significantly that a British driver has been in the championship race instead of having one driver dominate proceedings, as this helped bring a new spark to proceedings, which no doubt spurred the team on. With Perry recently confirming that she would be with the BBC team for 2015, things should continue to improve as next year progresses.

Commentary
As in 2012 and 2013, I have again enjoyed the commentary of Ben Edwards and David Coulthard. Edwards is still the best motor sport commentator there is out there, whilst Coulthard is a good analyst alongside Edwards. I don’t think Coulthard has had any stand out moments this year, however he is still a very valuable asset to the BBC that they cannot afford to lose. The only blot on their copy book for me is Japan, when both Edwards and Coulthard both failed to realise that Jules Bianchi had dropped down the timing screens. I think it was about 10 minutes before both realised that Bianchi was involved in the accident.

Over on 5 Live, Jack Nicholls was a revelation for the four races he did, as I noted earlier this year. I imagine that his role as Formula E lead commentator will limit what he can do – if anything – for 5 Live in 2015, but I hope we do hear him commentating on a Formula 1 race again in the near future, whether it is on TV or on radio.

VT’s
Once again, the quality of the VT’s that the BBC have produced has been top notch. From the Hamilton sky dive at Silverstone to the Jenson Button career retrospective, the VT’s produced have always delivered. There is not much more to say here, except that it is important to recognise that fact. Despite the reduction in content with the new deal, in year three, the VT’s are as good as ever.

Worst
Forum
Between 2009 and 2011, the BBC F1 forum used to be the highlight of any Formula 1 weekend. Even if the race was as dull as dishwater, you could always rely on the forum to have some great discussion with a selection of guests discussing the current issues in Formula 1. Sadly, in the past few years, the forum has fallen off the cliff, and Sky’s improvements in their post-race programming only serves to highlight this further. I understand the need and want to convey the pit lane atmosphere, especially now they only have ten forums in a year, but I also think that something needs to change.

It may be worth going back to the ‘motor home’ setting like they did in the early days of the coverage, interspersing that with Tom Clarkson and Lee McKenzie roaming the paddock. Furthermore, there really should be a short forum for the highlights shows (20/25 minutes long) to wrap things up, and to show the interviews that did not make the main show. Again, I point to the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix forum, that being a highlights race, as one of the best, but simplest, pieces of TV in that year. When the forum is at its best, it is the best in the business by far, before that can happen again, it needs to be steered back onto track.

Lack of Gary Anderson
Normally when 95 percent of your audience agree that a mistake has been made, chances are that it means you’ve made a catastrophic error of judgement. According to Anderson, the BBC believed that their viewers were not interested in technical analysis, hence the mutual decision to part company. The void that Anderson left was filled by Tom Clarkson, although no one was brought in to directly replace Anderson.

2014 began with a barrage of criticism directed towards Formula 1 because of the new V6 power trains. The BBC needed someone like Anderson to explain to the viewers why the new power trains were brought in, and what the key technical innovations were compared with 2013. As good as Clarkson and Allan McNish are, neither of them have the technical experience and expertise that Anderson has. I maintain now, nearly a year on, that BBC made a huge mistake in parting company with Anderson. Their loss was Formula One Management’s gain.

Scheduling
I know this is not a problem that the BBC F1 team can solve, but rather a problem for the wider BBC scheduling team. If you are having to schedule a highlights programme on BBC Two, that is not good for Formula 1 as it automatically reduces the reach. Bahrain was a stunning race, but was shown in highlights form on BBC Two, as was Austria. I know that Sky probably sometimes take the self interest approach, but both broadcasters when scheduling should work together to bring the best possible product to the viewer – which means having highlights programming on BBC One and preferably with consistent timing.

In my opinion, BBC’s product went into reverse during 2014, even when considering the fact that they only screen half the races live. The forum is an easy fix with some simple tweaking. Whether they could bring Anderson in on an ad-hoc basis again, I don’t know. But I hope their product improves again during 2015 back to how it once was. Coincidentally, 2015 will mark the half way part of their current contract with Sky which runs until 2018.

UK F1 viewing figures record slight year-on-year drop

Lewis Hamilton’s championship victory may have brought joy to both BBC and Sky Sports F1’s ratings in the latter half of the season but despite this, viewing figures are down year-on-year according to unofficial overnight viewing figures. Whereas 2013’s figures dropped sharply after the Summer break, the 2014 season has seen the opposite occur.

> BBC average figures drop year-on-year
> Sky record highest figures since channel launch
> Numbers still down on 2009-11 figures

As always, for those that are new to the blog, it is best stating what figures we are comparing here. For Sky Sports F1, all the viewing figures are for the three and a half hour race day slot: one hour before the race and approximately 45 minutes after the race. I have used the equivalent slots for 2012 and 2013 to present a fair and complete picture, there would be little use in presenting a skewed picture, so all data is for the equivalent timeslots. Over on BBC, I have used their programme averages, whether it be live or highlights, irrespective of whether the highlights were shown on BBC One or BBC Two, as was the case for Bahrain and Austria this year. Repeats are taken into account for Asian-based races that the BBC showed live. As always, viewing figures are for TV only. iPlayer, Sky Go and the such like are not included.

The 2014 story
It is worth a reminder that, in my Summer post, I stated that the UK’s audience for Formula 1 had “dropped to their lowest level since 2008.” Luckily, that has not happened. Thanks to a British driver winning the championship, numbers have increased. Crucially though, have numbers increased as much as expected, and has the scheduling hit the numbers badly?

Sky Sports F1’s race day programme has averaged 790k from 12:00 to 15:30, or equivalent across 2014. That number is up a massive 23.4 percent on 2013’s figure of 640k and up 11.1 percent on 2012’s figure of 711k. Whichever way you spin that, for Sky, those are very positive numbers. Things were not looking good for Sky during 2013 with numbers falling, but this year, they have turned it around, and then some more, to record an average higher than both 2012 and 2013. Back in the Summer, I was taking about a “meagre 22k.” The numbers bandied around above are much bigger than 22k, and in my opinion is definitely something worth recognising.

So, why the increase? Better picks? Absolutely. Having both USA and Brazil exclusively during the title run in would have done the average wonders. But even then, it is more than just that. In fact, 14 out of 16 races recorded increases between 2013 and 2014 on Sky Sports F1 (the other four didn’t take place), so even the races where Sky shared coverage with BBC did the numbers increase. That suggests to me that viewers are liking the product that Sky are putting out, otherwise they would not be tuning in to their pre and post-race shows. The substantial increase correlates with feedback on this blog to suggest that people are liking Sky’s race day show more than previously. Sky’s figures are no fluke, in my opinion.

The BBC’s figures dropped year-on-year by 5.9 percent, recording an average of 3.22m versus 3.42m in 2013. Numbers are up slightly on 2012’s average of 3.21m, although those two numbers are within the margin of error to be statistically insignificant. Scheduling was not great. Bahrain and Austria were both screened on BBC Two in highlights form, USA and Brazil, two races bound to draw big audiences if shown live, were shown as highlights. Under this current agreement, I feel that there will be a yearly discussion about what things could/could not have been done differently as a result. With USA, Brazil and Mexico back to back in 2015, BBC will not be able to screen all three live, although at least one of the three will be screened live.

Still down on BBC only days
The combined average of 4.01m is up 2.3 percent on 2012’s 3.92m, but down 1.3 percent on 2013’s average of 4.06m. What is fascinating to me is the closeness of those three figures despite the complete parallels that each of those three seasons faced. 2012 had a battle between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso until the end. 2013 arguably peaked in Malaysia from a fan perspective, with figures tumbling in the latter half of the season. In contrast, 2014 started with backlash from the wider media over the sound, or lack of, developing into a rivalry between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, inevitably helping the British figures in the final half of the year due to Hamilton’s involvement. I would suggest that it is a coincidence that the three years line up next to each other, although astonishing at the same time.

However, the 2011 season averaged 4.5m, a 10 percent drop. In fact, 2009, 2010 and 2011 all averaged higher than 2014. It will be, for me, an age old question of whether figures are really down 10 percent versus 2011, or whether more people are now watching Formula 1 via tablets, smart phones and as thus not being included in those figures. I don’t know. I’m not sure whether FOM even know the exact answer to that statement. For some people, 2009 through to 2011 will always be the barometer of Formula 1 coverage in the UK. Whether a group of fans bailed out of watching every race live at the end of 2011, I don’t know. I think it should probably be noted that a lot of shows have dropped year-on-year (the majority of ITV’s schedule is just one example), so in comparison, F1 has done well to hold onto the majority of its existing audience.

My own opinion is that viewing figures are down versus the BBC only days. That is an undeniable fact. When you include other devices, I think 2014 would close the gap in on 2011 slightly. Not significantly, as it seems clear to me that people have moved on. Sadly this is something that you cannot prove statistically, but anecdotally. If you were to grab a few people who have watched F1 at some stage in the past few years, chances are they would tell you that they are watching less F1 than when every race was live on BBC One, because it is not as readily available now as it was previously.

Heading into 2015
Whilst the overall picture is not exciting, the movement of viewers between BBC and Sky is somewhat interesting. There has been a 10 percent shift from BBC to Sky, although whether these are new viewers watching Sky’s coverage, or returning viewers to the channel from 2012, it is impossible to tell. It will be intriguing to see if Sky can continue the upwards swing heading into 2015, or whether BBC can claw back a few viewers off Sky that they have lost during 2014.

A BBC spokesperson said “In what has been a fantastic year with a wealth of sport available to watch on the BBC including the Winter Olympics, World Cup and Commonwealth Games we’re delighted with our F1 coverage this season which reached an impressive 26.1m people. This was undoubtedly helped by a brilliant season finale – Abu Dhabi was the most watched race of the season, with 6.5m people tuning in.”