Scheduling: The 2015 Punta del Este ePrix

The second season of the Formula E championship continues next weekend live from Punta del Este in Uruguay, with all the race action live on ITV4. Jennie Gow will present the action, as of writing guests are to be confirmed.

Preceding the race on ITV4 will be a new Formula E magazine show called Sound of the Future. The first three episodes were aired out of the limelight, and episode four premièred last weekend. Each episode was uploaded to the ITV Hub, but were only available for seven days meaning that they have since been removed, which seems a bit of a shame. Either way, episode four will air again next Saturday before the Uruguay race day programme.

Also as of writing, ITV4 will not be showing the Punta del Este qualifying session live, meaning it should be available for UK viewers to watch online via Formula E’s website.

> FREE Full Race Replay – 2015 Beijing ePrix
> FREE Full Race Replay – 2015 Putrajaya ePrix

Below are all the scheduling details you need…

Formula E – Punta del Este (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
19/11 – 11:10 to 12:10 – Practice 1
19/11 – 13:25 to 14:10 – Practice 2
19/11 – 14:45 to 16:10 – Qualifying

Formula E – Punta del Este
19/12 – 17:20 to 20:30 (ITV4)
=> 17:20 – Sound of the Future: Episode 4
=> 18:00 – Race
20/12 – 09:25 to 10:20 – Highlights (ITV)

As always I will update the schedule if anything changes.

News round-up: ITV extends BTCC contract, Formula E highlights go global

Before I get into the round-up, no news on anything BBC F1 related concerning 2016. If we hear nothing before Christmas, we have to assume that things are staying the same for next season. Hopefully we will have direct confirmation one way or the other soon.

Formula E creates highlights programme for YouTube… but is it uploaded by a robot?
For those of you who are unable to watch the full session replays on the Formula E website because of geo-blocking, or new contractual agreements mean that you can no longer access the series, there is some good news. A 50-minute highlights programme will now be uploaded to YouTube one week after each ePrix, with no restrictions in place. Beijing and Putrajaya‘s extended highlights are already online.

Unfortunately Formula E has gone a few steps backwards in the accessibility ranks recently, but the move to upload an extended highlights programme to YouTube is certainly a sensible move. As usual, the question is whether anyone will (or has) noticed. You can do the best thing in the world, but if you do not communicate the message to the right people, you’re in a problematical situation. I am hopeful that things will improve for the Punta del Este ePrix in three weeks time, it should be better for the production team generally that the race takes place in a European friendly time zone.

Speaking of scheduling, whilst Battersea Park and Mexico are definitely taking place, question marks remain about Berlin, unfortunately the calendar for the second year running is fragile. That is the nature of having a series that takes place primarily on temporary circuits, inevitably things that are more important contextually will emerge.

Lastly on Formula E, I would be surprised if Roborace is covered live anywhere. The news was covered widely by a lot of technology outlets, and reached the people it needed to, such as the BBC, Mashable, Wired and The Verge. It is a great news story in my eyes for Formula E, and (coming from a Computing background) I’m fascinated to see how exactly the Roborace goes down. I look forward to the first Roborace testing session at Donington Park (because that surely will be a thing?) next Summer.

BTCC and ITV extend agreement
The main news on the rights front actually comes from ITV, with the announcement that they have extended their agreement to broadcast the British Touring Car Championship until 2022, taking their contract into a twentieth year. It is ITV’s longest agreement in history with the championship. Although viewing figures for the series have dropped recently, it is still fantastic news for the series and for fans, maintaining their presence on free-to-air television in the UK.

It also shows again that the championship, from a broadcasting perspective, clearly considers exposure over funding. I imagine they could get more money off a pay-TV partner, but choose not to in order to reach the widest possible audience. Okay, as mentioned numbers have dropped, but BTCC are unlikely to find another partner who are willing to dedicate the amount of airtime that ITV4 does to the championship.

Although this contract does not take effect until 2017, reading the article on the BTCC website, it looks like nothing has changed versus this deal. The timing is interesting, given that there have been rumours recently about ITV potentially being in the F1 race soon should BBC opt out. However, ITV have broadcast BTCC and F1 at the same time previously, from 2002 to 2008 they held the contract for both series.

In relation to Formula 1, Alan Gow said “the fact that we enjoy more live free-to-air television that even Formula 1 in the UK is testament to not only the BTCC but also the dedication and passion expressed by the ITV Sport team.”

Race of Champions makes history
Live coverage of the Race of Champions averaged 54k (0.4%) on Saturday 21st November on Sky Sports F1 from 15:00 according to overnight viewing figures, which will have been significantly up on the channel’s slot average during non-F1 race weekends. It was surprising to see Sky in their studio considering the Olympic Stadium is only an hour journey away from the studio.

You could say that the event made a bit of history, as Martin Haven was commentating alongside Jennie Gow for the World Feed coverage, which Sky largely used interspersed with studio discussion. Haven noted on Twitter that Gow would become UK’s first female motor sport commentator by commentating on the event, which is an amazing achievement. On the main stream motor sport outlets (I’m thinking BBC, Sky, ITV and BT to some extent) we have female presenters and pit lane reporters, but I do not ever recall a female commentator commentating on motor sport. It was a welcome change. and I enjoyed listening to a different voice during the proceedings.

MotoGP finale peaks with 433k on BT Sport

A peak audience of 433k watched Jorge Lorenzo clinch the 2015 MotoGP championship live on BT Sport, overnight viewing figures show.

MotoGP and Moto3 hit BT Sport highs
Live coverage of the final MotoGP round of the season from Valencia averaged 345k (3.3%) from 12:30 to 14:00 on BT Sport 2, peaking with 433k (3.9%) in the 5-minute period from 13:40. Unsurprisingly, the peak figure is nearly triple last year’s peak of 151k (1.5%) when the title had already been decided.

The Moto3 race, which saw Danny Kent claim Britain’s first Grand Prix motorcycle title since 1977, peaked with 217k (2.4%) at 10:40. The entire programme, excluding Chequered Flag from 09:30 to 14:15, averaged a strong 205k (2.1%). ITV4’s highlights programme actually fared worse than BT Sport’s live MotoGP race. An average audience of 331k (1.5%) watched ITV4’s highlights on Monday evening at 20:00, peaking with 381k (1.7%) in the 5-minutes from 20:35. ITV4’s MotoGP shows have performed worse year-on-year, for the Monday airings at least, with the pendulum swinging towards BT Sport – noticeably there is now around a 50/50 audience split between the two broadcasters, something that was not the case last year.

It should be noted that ITV4 have added a lot of MotoGP repeats into their schedule this year, but my motto is not to add in multiple highlights, otherwise where do you stop? In 2013, when Marc Marquez beat Lorenzo to the championship, an average audience of 1.21m (11.9%) watched on BBC Two, with a peak of 1.49m (14.0%) recorded. Including British Eurosport, that number jumps to around 1.7m. The combined peak in 2015 of 814k is not the highest under this current contract, that honour remains with Qatar 2014 which recorded a combined peak of 833k. So viewing figures for the finale were down around half what they were in 2013, on your traditional devices at least.

I believe Sunday’s figures were BT Sport’s highest ever outside of football, so they will be happy with the numbers. As always, all figures exclude the BT Sport app and similarly BBC iPlayer from 2013.

Formula E struggles, but up year-on-year
Elsewhere, live coverage of Formula E from Putrajaya averaged just 23k (1.6%) from 05:00 to 07:30 on Saturday on ITV4. That number includes anyone who recorded the live programme and watched it before 02:00 on Sunday morning. The audience peaked (5-minute measure) with 58k (4.9%) ten minutes into the race. Last year, Putrajaya averaged 66k (5.1%), peaking with 137k (7.2%).

Highlights on Sunday morning fared significantly better, benefiting from the slot on ITV’s flagship channel. An audience of 201k (2.8%) watched, which compares with the 95k (0.5%) that watched ITV4’s highlights programme on Saturday evening last year. Formula E’s figures can be spun two different ways. Here are the facts. ITV4’s live coverage, in an identical slot to 2014, dropped 65 percent year-on-year, a very similar percentage drop to Beijing two weeks ago. Including the highlights show, the combined audience is up 40 percent year-on-year, from 160k to 224k.

It is a confusing picture. On one hand you can say, that the combined number is up or you can say that the live airing is down. What you also need to remember is the respective channel slot averages. By default, a programme airing on ITV should get a lot more viewers than on ITV4. However, Formula E’s number of 201k (2.8%) is down on ITV’s slot average. I think Punta del Este will tell a clearer story. My own opinion is that the numbers so far for Formula E’s second season are not good. Punta will either confirm that, or reverse the decline shown for the live numbers on ITV4.

There’s an interesting pattern here. Formula E, MotoGP and BTCC have recorded drops on ITV4 this year/recently, which could imply a wider issue to do with the broadcaster itself rather than an issue with a particular series…

Scheduling: The 2015 Valencian MotoGP / Putrajaya ePrix

The 2015 MotoGP season, which has seen some fantastic racing and amazing battles, comes to a controversial conclusion this upcoming weekend in Valencia. It is Valentino Rossi versus Jorge Lorenzo for the MotoGP championship. Following the events in Sepang, Rossi starts Valencia from the back of the grid for his collision with Marc Marquez. I wouldn’t want to predict what will happen in Valencia given that the situation is extremely volatile.

What I do know is that anyone broadcasting MotoGP next weekend will be in line for some bumper viewing figures, including BT Sport who I would expect to smash their current MotoGP record high peak figure of 330k (4.4%) from Le Mans.

Elsewhere, it is the second round of the 2015-16 Formula E season, taking place in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Action will air live on ITV4 on Saturday morning with highlights on Sunday on ITV.

MotoGP – Valencia (BT Sport 2)
06/11 – 08:00 to 15:00
=> 08:00 – Practice 1
=> 10:45 – Reaction and Build-Up
=> 12:00 – Practice 2
07/11 – 08:00 to 15:15
=> 08:00 – Practice 3
=> 11:00 – Qualifying
08/11 – 07:30 to 09:15 – Warm Up
08/11 – 09:30 to 15:00
=> 09:30 – Moto3 race
=> 11:15 – Moto2 race
=> 12:45 – MotoGP race
=> 14:00 – Chequered Flag

MotoGP – Valencia (ITV4)
09/11 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Highlights

Formula E – Putrajaya (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
This assumes the UK does have access to the live streaming service, after confusion in Beijing.
07/11 – 23:45 (Friday) to 01:10 – Practice 1
07/11 – 01:45 to 03:10 – Qualifying

Formula E – Putrajaya
07/11 – 05:00 to 07:30 – Race (ITV4)
08/11 – 09:25 to 10:20 – Highlights (ITV)

As always I will update the schedule if anything changes.

Controversy helps MotoGP sizzle

A spectacular MotoGP season hit the tipping point in Sepang this past Sunday, with BT Sport rewarded as a result, overnight numbers show.

Marquez vs Rossi – TV reaps the rewards
The battle off the track between Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi soon became an on-track battle, the two colliding in sensational fashion in Sepang. A one-minute peak audience of 300k (8.2%) at 07:15 witnessed the drama come to a head on Sunday morning on BT Sport 2. Live coverage of the race, from 06:30 to 08:00 averaged 186k (5.0%), the 5-minute peak was 269k (7.5%) at 07:15. BT Sport opted to extend their post-race broadcast until 09:00, the extra hour bringing a solid 110k (1.6%). Their entire broadcast from 03:45 to 09:00 averaged 101k (4.4%), this number including the Moto2 and Moto3 broadcasts.

As documented on these pages, BT’s MotoGP ratings upswing comes at a time when TV ratings are heading downwards. Last year’s coverage from Sepang averaged 68k (1.9%) from 04:45 to 09:15, with a 5-minute peak of 179k. Again, 2015’s viewing figures are significantly up on 2014. I think BT have been incredibly lucky to have the season that they have had this year. Over on ITV4, highlights from 20:00 to 21:00 averaged a further 301k (1.3%), recording a 5-minute peak of 384k (1.7%), also up on last year’s figure of 257k (1.1%).

Combined, the two channels recorded an average of 443k, which compares with the BBC’s live and repeat combined average in 2013 of around 1.1 million for Malaysia. You would expect more of a drop off for the fly-away races than the European rounds, the key for BT Sport and ITV is to continue in the right direction for 2016 and not make 2015 a ‘one hit wonder’, as it were. I could say the scale of the drop off is poor versus 2013, and it is as I have mentioned before, but the signs from 2015 so far have been very, very positive for MotoGP. I’m intrigued to see how the Valencia programming performs. It should be BT Sport’s highest ever MotoGP ratings, but as we saw this past weekend with the US F1 Grand Prix, what we expect to happen and what actually materialises are two different things.

Is Formula E about to suffer second season syndrome?
Over in the electric world, the picture was less than rosy. After a strong finish to season one in Battersea Park, Formula E stumbled for the start of season two in Beijing. The ePrix, airing live on Saturday morning on ITV4 from 08:00 to 10:30, averaged just 88k (1.4%) – the third lowest for the series, only behind Putrajaya and Moscow from season one. The Beijing number is significantly lower than the average audience of 266k (4.0%) for the inaugural race in September 2014.

The 5-minute peak of 168k (2.4%) was also down on the equivalent peak figure from 2014 of 477k (6.8%). In my opinion, it is a disappointing figure. On one hand, you could say that the drop was because last year was the inaugural race and all the hype that surrounded that, but on the other hand, did Formula E not gain any new followers from Battersea Park airing on ITV’s main channel in June? The fact that the season started on the same weekend as both Formula 1 and MotoGP running will have dented the numbers though, it should be noted, the lowest three numbers have all been when the series has held a race on the same weekend as Formula 1.

Highlights on ITV’s main channel performed okay with an average of 244k (3.1%), peaking with 321k (4.2%) at 10:00, up on ITV4’s highlights number from one year ago. The number is below the slot average and was beaten by three of the other four terrestrial channels. The combined live and highlights average of 332k is down on last year’s inaugural number of 426k, or down nearly a quarter. Moving the highlights to ITV’s main channel has helped reduce the deficit.

Ratings and scheduling aside from the series as a whole, advertising of the series has been poor from ITV. I watched multiple hours of the Rugby World Cup the weekend before last, which attracts a core male audience, and I did not see one trailer for Formula E. A series cannot attract a wider demographic without advertising, ITV need to realise that for the series to draw bigger numbers. ITV did produce a trailer for the season opener. If this was F1, you would expect to see the ITV pre-season trailer multiple times across a week. I didn’t see Formula E’s trailer once (anecdotally, of course). The problem we have: ITV won’t advertise > ITV’s viewing figures stay low > ITV won’t pay Formula E any more money as a result > Formula E want more money > Formula E can’t go to pay-TV otherwise figures would be embarrassing. Of course, Formula E could take the series to pay-TV, but if you are only attracting 300k on free-to-air television, you are looking at below 50k on BT Sport or Eurosport.

Time will tell how this plays out, but for Formula E’s sake, numbers cannot settle at a lower level than last year, in my opinion.