Scheduling: The 2016 British Grand Prix

This weekend, Formula 1 comes home for the British Grand Prix! The Silverstone circuit plays host to round ten of 21 in the 2016 season. As is normally the case in the era of ‘split broadcasters’, the free-to-air broadcaster will be screening the race live… whether we will still have that to the same degree and reach in 2019, we don’t yet know.

Channel 4’s coverage on Sunday clocks in at four hours long, their longest race day show yet. You would have to go back to the mid-1990s to find a British Grand Prix programme that long, although of course the BBC in 2010 and 2011 were on air from 12:10 to around 16:45 (including their Red Button forum show).

Disappointingly, there is no spin-off programming to the weekend that helps cross-promote F1 to Channel 4’s other shows. This was mooted pre-season but has not come to fruition. Sunday Brunch is being billed though as a “Grand Prix show” with some F1 features.

There is also an one-hour special originally shown in 2012 focussing on Nic Hamilton, which will be broadcast on Saturday morning. On-site, Channel 4 will have an extended team with Eddie Jordan, Mark Webber and Susie Wolff all present alongside their usual line-up. Murray Walker has filmed a VT to be shown during the weekend as he is unable to attend in person. Elsewhere, the Speedway Grand Prix comes to the UK and Suzi Perry will be presenting BT Sport’s live coverage.

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
08/07 – 09:55 to 11:40 – Practice 1
08/07 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2
09/07 – 09:55 to 11:20 – Practice 3
09/07 – 11:55 to 14:30 – Qualifying
10/07 – 12:00 to 16:00 – Race
10/07 – 23:05 to 00:10 – Highlights

Supplementary Programming
09/07 – 06:55 to 07:55 – Nic Hamilton’s Racing Dream
10/07 – 09:00 to 12:00 – Sunday Brunch: Grand Prix show

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
08/07 – 09:45 to 12:00 – Practice 1
08/07 – 13:45 to 15:55 – Practice 2 (also Sky Sports 1)
09/07 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
09/07 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (also Sky Sports 1)
10/07 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
07/07 – 15:00 to 15:30 – Driver Press Conference
07/07 – 18:00 to 19:00 – The F1 Show: British Special (also Sky Sports 1)
07/07 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut
08/07 – 16:30 to 17:00 – Team Press Conference (also Sky Sports 1)
08/07 – 17:00 to 17:30 – The F1 Show (also Sky Sports 1)
13/07 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Review

BBC Radio F1
08/07 – 09:55 to 11:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
08/07 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
08/07 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
09/07 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
09/07 – 12:55 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
10/07 – 12:30 to 15:30 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)

British Superbikes – Snetterton
09/07 – 16:00 to 18:00 – Qualifying (Eurosport 2 and Quest)
10/07 – 12:30 to 13:45 – Race 1 (Eurosport 2)
10/07 – 12:30 to 18:00 – Races (Quest)
13/07 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Highlights (ITV4)

GP2 Series – Britain (Sky Sports F1)
08/07 – 12:00 to 12:50 – Practice
08/07 – 15:55 to 16:30 – Qualifying (also Sky Sports 1)
09/07 – 14:40 to 16:10 – Race 1
10/07 – 09:25 to 10:40 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Britain (Sky Sports F1)
09/07 – 08:45 to 09:20 – Qualifying
09/07 – 16:20 to 17:20 – Race 1
10/07 – 08:15 to 09:15 – Race 2

IndyCar Series – Iowa Corn 300 (BT Sport//ESPN)
10/07 – 22:30 to 01:00 – Race

Porsche Supercup – Britain (Eurosport 2)
10/07 – 10:45 to 11:30 – Race

Speedway Grand Prix – Britain (BT Sport 1)
09/07 – 16:30 to 20:30 – Races

Virgin Australia Supercars – Townsville (BT Sport 2)
09/07 – 07:00 to 08:45 – Race 14
10/07 – 07:00 to 08:45 – Race 15

World Superbikes – Laguna Seca (British Eurosport 2)
09/07 – 19:15 to 20:30 – Superpole
09/07 – 22:15 to 23:30 – Race 1
10/07 – 22:15 to 23:30 – Race 2

As always, if anything changes, I’ll update the schedule.

Updated on July 8th to reflect Murray Walker’s status.

Scheduling: The 2016 Austrian Grand Prix

The 2016 Formula One season continues as the championship heads firmly to the European heartland for the Austrian Grand Prix.

It is the third year back on the calendar for the Red Bull Ring, all three years have been broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports. Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson are back with Sky this weekend after their 24 Hours of Le Mans absence. Over on Channel 4, Lee McKenzie is not with the team due to her BBC commitments with Wimbledon, however she will be appearing as a guest on Sunday Brunch at 09:30 on Sunday morning. Holly Samos, who is a name former listeners to BBC’s 5 Live F1 coverage may recognise, will be covering for McKenzie this weekend.

Things look a bit different for BBC’s radio team as well. With the Austrian Grand Prix clashing with the Formula E season finale, neither Jack Nicholls or Jennie Gow will be part of BBC’s team. Tom Clarkson, Allan McNish and 5 Live sports reporter Claire Cottingham will be covering duties. All the schedule details as usual are listed below and, for the London ePrix schedule, head over here…

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
02/07 – 17:30 to 19:00 – Qualifying Highlights
03/07 – 18:00 to 20:00 – Race Highlights

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
01/07 – 08:45 to 11:00 – Practice 1
01/07 – 12:45 to 14:55 – Practice 2
02/07 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
02/07 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (also Sky Sports 1)
03/07 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
29/06 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Preview
30/06 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Driver Press Conference
30/06 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut
01/07 – 15:30 to 16:00 – Team Press Conference
01/07 – 16:00 to 16:30 – The F1 Show

BBC Radio F1
01/07 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
01/07 – 12:55 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
03/07 – 13:00 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Blancpain Sprint Series – Nurburgring (BT Sport 2)
03/07 – 13:00 to 15:00 – Race

FIM CEV Repsol – Albacete (BT Sport Europe)
03/07 – 09:45 to 14:00 – Races

GP2 Series – Austria (Sky Sports F1)
01/07 – 11:00 to 11:50 – Practice
01/07 – 14:55 to 15:30 – Qualifying
02/07 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1 (also Sky Sports 1)
03/07 – 09:25 to 10:40 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Austria (Sky Sports F1)
02/07 – 08:45 to 09:20 – Qualifying
02/07 – 16:10 to 17:10 – Race 1
03/07 – 08:15 to 09:15 – Race 2

Porsche Supercup – Austria (Eurosport)
03/07 – 10:30 to 11:20 – Race

TCR International Series – Russia (Motors TV)
03/07 – 10:25 to 11:45 – Race

World Rally Championship – Poland
30/06 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Stage 1 Live (BT Sport Europe)
01/07 – Day 1 Highlights
=> 22:00 to 22:30 (BT Sport 1)
=> 22:35 to 23:05 (Motors TV)
02/07 – Day 2 Highlights
=> 22:00 to 22:30 (BT Sport 1)
=> 22:35 to 23:05 (Motors TV)
03/07 – 08:00 to 09:00 – Stage 2 Live (BT Sport 1)
03/07 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Stage 3 Live (BT Sport 2)
03/07 – Day 3 Highlights
=> 22:00 to 22:30 (BT Sport 1)
=> 22:35 to 23:05 (Motors TV)
04/07 – 19:00 to 20:00 – Highlights (Channel 5)

As always, if anything changes, I will update the schedule.

Last updated on June 30th, to add information about Claire Cottingham and Holly Samos.

Le Mans performs solidly against F1 and Euro 2016

The 24 Hours of Le Mans performed solidly against tough competition last weekend, overnight viewing figures show.

The race, screened live on Eurosport from 13:45 on Saturday to 14:15 on Sunday, averaged 60k (0.8%), down on last year’s audience of 70k (1.1%) but up on 2012 and 2014. Taking into account Quest TV’s coverage, the average increases to 73k (0.9%), down on the combined audience of 98k (1.5%) from 2015.

Eurosport’s coverage of Le Mans hit a high of 147k (1.6%) on Sunday afternoon as the race came to a conclusion, compared with a peak audience of 172k (2.0%) last year. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a major difference. Where Eurosport really lost viewers year-on-year was in the early stages of the race.

From 13:45 to 20:00 on Saturday, Eurosport averaged 78k (0.7%), down 25 percent on a figure of 104k (1.0%) across the same slot last year. The safety car in hour one will have contributed to this, alongside the European Grand Prix qualifying session and three Euro 2016 games. Numbers rebounded on Sunday for Eurosport, averaging 87k (1.3%) from 08:00 to 14:15 compared with 85k (1.2%) last year. I think overall Eurosport should be happy with their numbers.

Unfortunately for the overall Discovery family, Quest TV’s numbers are underwhelming with two live segments falling flat against Formula 1. The first programme, also hurt by the safety car start, averaged only 56k (0.6%) on Saturday afternoon compared with 140k (1.7%) last year. The two updates on Saturday evening and Sunday morning were Quest TV’s bright spots, averaging 143k (0.8%) and 73k (1.1%) respectively. Numbers slumped again on Sunday afternoon, with their final programme from 13:00 to 14:30 on Sunday averaging just 33k (0.4%). Quest’s coverage peaked with 191k (1.1%) during their Saturday evening update.

I don’t have an exact figure, but it appears that the combined peak audience was in the region of 275k, recorded on Saturday evening whilst Quest TV’s update aired from 20:00 to 21:00. The combined peak last year was 428k (5.0%), so the peak this year is shy of that mark.

Overall, the viewing figures are not too bad. The combination of Euro 2016 and the European Grand Prix was always going to put a dent in Le Mans numbers. If you look at 2012 and 2014, the phenomenon is repeated: even numbered years rate worse than odd numbered years simply because the former clashes with the bi-annual international football event. So, 2016 was in-line with expectations, if anything perhaps slightly above what was anticipated. I hope Quest TV’s coverage continues in 2017. The pattern that they experienced is unusual, but there are rational factors to explain why their number dropped so much for their last programme on Sunday afternoon.

The 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans ratings report can be found here.

Scheduling: The 2016 European Grand Prix

After a quick dash over to North America, Formula 1 heads back over to the East for the first ever race in Azerbaijan! Badged as the European Grand Prix, the race takes place on a street circuit in Baku.

The sporting opposition this weekend consists of four events: the Royal Ascot, Tennis from Queen’s, Euro 2016 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (schedule here). The qualifying session clashes with Belgium vs Republic of Ireland; however, Sunday thankfully has no football clash. Of course, as widely publicised, the qualifying session will also clash with the first hour of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The race itself will clash with the chequered flag of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the first time Le Mans has clashed with the F1 since 2011, which is a nonsense scenario that hopefully will not be repeated in the foreseeable future. Elsewhere, Channel 4’s coverage of practice two moves to More4 due to coverage of the Royal Ascot.

On the personnel front, the big news is that Martin Brundle will not be present again with Sky’s Formula 1 team in Baku due to his participation in the famous endurance race. Originally, Brundle was only set to miss Baku, but this was extended to cover Canada as a result of a “medical procedure” that Brundle had following the Monaco Grand Prix. Paul di Resta is again alongside David Croft in the commentary box in Baku.

Over on Channel 4, Eddie Jordan returns to F1 broadcasting, his first live appearance with the channel since they took over from BBC at the end of 2015.

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
17/06 – 09:55 to 11:35 – Practice 1 (Channel 4)
17/06 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2 (More4)
18/06 – 10:55 to 12:05 – Practice 3 (Channel 4)
18/06 – 13:00 to 15:20 – Qualifying (Channel 4)
19/06– 13:00 to 16:30 – Race (Channel 4)
19/06 – 23:25 to 00:30 – Highlights (Channel 4)

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
17/06 – 09:45 to 11:50 – Practice 1
17/06 – 13:45 to 16:00 – Practice 2
18/06 – 10:45 to 12:15 – Practice 3
18/06 – 13:00 to 15:45 – Qualifying
19/06 – 12:30 to 17:15 – Race
=> 12:30 – Track Parade (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 13:00 – Pit Lane Live (also Sky Sports 1)
=> 13:30 – Race (also Sky Sports 1 – until 16:00 only)
=> 16:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
16/06 – 12:00 to 12:30 – Driver Press Conference
16/06 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut
17/06 – 16:00 to 16:30 – Team Press Conference
17/06 – 16:30 to 17:00 – The F1 Show
22/06 – 20:30 to 21:00 – F1 Report: Review

BBC Radio F1
17/06 – 09:55 to 11:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
18/06 – 10:55 to 12:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
18/06 – 13:55 to 15:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
19/06 – 14:00 to 16:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

British Touring Car Championship – Croft (ITV4)
19/06 – 11:00 to 18:15 – Races

GP2 Series – Europe (Sky Sports F1)
17/06 – 08:00 to 08:50 – Practice
17/06 – 11:50 to 12:30 – Qualifying
18/06 – 09:00 to 10:30 – Race 1
19/06 – 10:55 to 12:10 – Race 2

Virgin Australia Supercars – Darwin Triple Crown (BT Sport 1)
18/06 – 07:15 to 09:00 – Race 12
19/06 – 04:30 to 06:45 – Race 13

World Superbikes –Misano
18/06 – 09:15 to 13:15 – Qualifying and Race 1 (Eurosport)
19/06 – 10:00 to 13:15 – Race 2 (Eurosport 2)

Last updated on June 18th, to reflect Sky Sports 1 also covering the Track Parade and Pit Lane Live.

Scheduling: The 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans

The greatest endurance race on the planet is back! The 24 Hours of Le Mans takes its usual June place on the motor sport calendar, marking round three of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship.

As usual, Eurosport have extensive coverage of proceedings with all of the race covered live. The one thing missing is the second qualifying session on Thursday afternoon which clashes with Tennis from Queen’s. Also a notable absentee is the Le Mans Legends race, a fixture since 2001, this will no longer be taking place in the build-up to the main race. As usual, Eurosport’s line-up will feature the likes of Martin Haven, Jeremy Shaw and Liz Halliday. Tom Gaymor will be voicing the 24 Minutes magazine programmes.

Quest TV (also owned by Discovery) will be screening coverage again this year following high numbers last year. Quest are airing four hours of live coverage, compared with three and a half hours of live coverage last year. Eurosport and Quest will be sharing the personnel used with the added use of Louise Goodman and Andy Jaye. There will also be 90 second updates at the top of each hour (excluding overnight).

Monday 13th June
22:45 to 23:15 – 24 Minutes (Eurosport)

Tuesday 14th June
22:30 to 23:00 – 24 Minutes (Eurosport 2)

Wednesday 15th June
15:00 to 19:00 – Live Practice (Eurosport 2)
20:30 to 21:00 – Live 24 Minutes (Eurosport)
21:00 to 22:55 – Live Qualifying 1 (Eurosport)

Thursday 16th June
20:30 to 21:00 – Live 24 Minutes (Eurosport)
21:00 to 22:55 – Live Qualifying 3 (Eurosport)

Friday 17th June
22:25 to 22:55 – 24 Minutes (Eurosport)

Saturday 18th June
08:00 to 09:00- Live Warm Up (Eurosport 2)
13:15 to 13:45 – Live 24 Minutes (Eurosport)
20:00 to 20:30 – Live 24 Minutes (Eurosport)
– for details of the race itself, see below

Sunday 19th June
07:30 to 08:00 – Live 24 Minutes (Eurosport)
14:15 to 14:45 – Live 24 Minutes (Eurosport)

Monday 20th June
20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights (Quest TV)

Saturday 25th June
06:35 to 07:00 – Highlights (Channel 4)

The race itself beginning on the Saturday…
13:30 to 15:00 – Quest TV
13:45 to 20:00 – Eurosport
20:00 to 20:30 – Eurosport 2
20:00 to 21:00 – Quest TV
20:30 to 07:30 – Eurosport
07:30 to 08:00 – Eurosport 2
08:00 to 14:15 – Eurosport
10:00 to 11:00 – Quest TV
13:00 to 14:30 – Quest TV

Last updated on June 18th with details about Quest TV’s personnel.