Formula E sparks off the line

The inaugural Formula E season has begun in fantastic style with close racing in each of the four rounds so far. As the championship nears the half way stage of its season, it is too early to tell whether it will be a long term success story. But how have things been doing on the broadcasting side?

Viewing figures – the UK story so far
Interest was high for Formula E’s inaugural race back in September, with a peak audience of 477k (6.8%) for the live airing. When factoring in the evening highlights, this figure increased to 713k. A combined average of 426k dropped sharply to 160k for round two in Putrajaya, thanks to a clash with the Formula 1 season finale. Numbers have increased since then, however. An average of 197k (1.1%) tuned into the Punta del Este ePrix, with 260k (1.2%) tuning in last weekend for the Buenos Aires round of the championship. The peak of 423k (1.9%) for Buenos Aires was still down on the figures recorded in Beijing. Highlights of both Punta del Este and Buenos Aires are not included, as the airings were next day and the figures for both were negligible.

Stunning backdrops has been a key feature of Formula E. No desert races so far... — Stunning backdrops has been a key feature of Formula E. No desert races so far…

The increase in viewing figures is a good sign and one that should continue. Whether the figures are any good is a matter of opinion. I would have liked to seen both the Punta del Este and Buenos Aires figures to be higher given their primetime slot, so to see a peak of less than 500k could be construed as somewhat disappointing. The reaction from those that have been watching has been positive, so word of mouth hopefully will increase the numbers further. From ITV’s perspective, I think it would be great if the last three races this season were simulcast on their main channel. Monte Carlo, Berlin and London are all in mid afternoon slots, with no Formula 1 competition. Monte Carlo will be straight after the F1 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying session and would be fantastic to showcase on the main ITV channel, Berlin will be two hours before The FA Cup Final, whilst I assume London will be live on-location. Last Saturday, ITV’s main channel hovered around 500k during the afternoon, and I have no doubt that Formula E would do better if promoted for the last few rounds.

By broadcasting the last three rounds on ITV’s main channel, it would show that ITV Sport are committed to the series and want Formula E’s audience to increase further ready for season two. This point is absolutely critical. If Formula E is to be successful in the UK, it has to stay live on free-to-air television, I cannot emphasise that point enough. It can not be snapped up by BT Sport for ridiculous amounts of money.

The product
The first four Formula E rounds have been held in picturesque locations, which makes for great television. There is nothing worse than watching a motor race in the middle of the desert with only a handful of people there. The crowds seem vibrant and colourful, which makes for a better product on-screen. The team which organised the locations deserve full marks, because they have got things spot on so far. Compare the images in this article with any image from Formula 1’s races in Valencia or Korea, and they are a world apart.

One of the many camera angles during the 2015 Buenos Aires ePrix.

The direction for the most part has been good during the opening four races. There have been a few dodgy moments, notably during the pit stop sequences. The pit stop sequence has probably been the weakest point of Formula E’s product. It doesn’t yet seem ‘fluid’ to me, the lack of on-screen graphics does not help explain to the viewer what is going on. I think they could do with a pit stop tower, like what we see in IndyCars, which they call the ‘race off pit lane’ to see how many positions car X has gained from the start of pit lane to the end of pit lane.

One great point about the direction is that the cars look the part. They look fast. The reason for this is because the camera angles chosen have been simply fantastic, and make you feel ‘up close and personal’ with the action. The team have really excelled with the camera angles, and should be credited for that. The camera angles used in Formula E only serve to highlight the shortcomings of Formula One Management’s (FOM) on-screen product: in Formula E, the car is the primary focus, whereas you’re never quite sure with FOM whether its the Red Bull car or Rolex advert that is the focus. Concerning the music, I’m not too fussed with it now. I don’t feel like its been overused or underused, its use is just fine for me.

Overall, Formula E has got off to an excellent start, with close racing combined with excellent commentary and stunning locations making for a great product on and off the track.

Scheduling: The 2015 Buenos Aires ePrix

The 2014-15 Formula E season continues through South America, stopping in Argentina for the Buenos Aires ePrix!

The race marks race four of the nine round season, the unofficial halfway stage of the season. I say unofficial as, following this race, the championship goes on a two month break, returning in March from Miami on the same weekend as the Australian F1 Grand Prix. The reason for the large gap is because the round in Rio, scheduled originally for early February, failed to materialise. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as this is season one, but the calendar has to be paced better for season two. Eleven or twelve races, with two or three week gaps, would be better for the 2015-16 season.

On location is the usual team of Nicki Shields, Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti, with Jennie Gow in the ITV Sport studio alongside guests to be confirmed as of writing. If one of your New Year resolutions was to watch a Formula E race, then you’ll be happy to learn that ITV4’s coverage has no adverts during the race itself, so you don’t miss a thing. There are plenty of adverts during the pre and post-race coverage, but this is a good compromise in my opinion.

Formula E – Buenos Aires (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
10/01 – 13:25 to 14:10 – Practice 2
10/01 – 14:45 to 16:10 – Qualifying

Formula E – Buenos Aires (ITV4)
10/01 – 18:00 to 20:30 – Race
11/01 – 11:00 to 12:00 – Highlights

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

Scheduling: The 2014 Punta del Este ePrix

The cold winter days are upon us, which means that the motor sport season is over. Well, not quite. With Formula E running through the winter, your motor sport fix is actually never far away!

Round 3 of the series takes place in Uruguay and ITV4 has full live coverage again. Jennie Gow presents the show alongside Alex Brundle and Mark Priestley in the studio. Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti will be on location commentating, with Nicki Shields down in pit lane. No coverage of qualifying on ITV4, but the action will be streamed on Formula E’s website, details are listed below.

As well as Formula E, there is the annual Race of Champions event, which airs live on Motors TV. Frustratingly, the Nations Cup portion clashes with Formula E, however Motors TV is repeating the running in full on Sunday afternoon so this is not too much of an issue.

Formula E – Punta del Este (online via FIAFormulaE.com)
13/12 – 12:30 to 13:00 – Practice 2
13/12 – 14:00 to 14:55 – Qualifying

Formula E – Punta del Este (ITV4)
13/12 – 17:00 to 19:30 – Race
14/12 – 09:30 to 10:30 – Highlights

Race of Champions (Motors TV)
13/12 – 16:00 to 19:05 – Nations Cup
14/12 – 12:55 to 16:00 – Nations Cup (R)
14/12 – 16:00 to 19:05 – Race of Champions

As always, I’ll update the above if anything is added or changed.

Update on December 13th – As per this tweet from Jack Nicholls, practice one is not broadcast online. Apologies.

Scheduling: The 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

After 18 races, the Formula 1 championship battle comes down to the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi! In any of the previous seasons, that statement may be somewhat surprising, but given the double points scenario this year, it is not too much of a surprise to see the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg go down to the wire.

With no broadcasting announcements yet for 2015, it remains to be seen whether Abu Dhabi will be the last race for anyone on the BBC and Sky Sports teams. What we do know is that Natalie Pinkham will not be at any of the early 2015 races, but as of writing, we don’t know who will be filling her position. I suspect it will be Rachel Brookes, but that hasn’t been confirmed officially. Sadly though, Abu Dhabi will be the last race for Will Buxton as lead GP2 and GP3 commentator. The change will allow Buxton to focus solely on Formula 1 for NBC Sports, even so, he will be missed by those viewers who listen to his passionate commentary.

One person who will have an unusually busy weekend is Jennie Gow. Thanks to Formula 1 and Formula E clashing, Gow is flying to Abu Dhabi as usual mid-week, flying back to the UK after her F1 practice commitments with the BBC on Friday. Gow then heads to ITV’s London Studios to present Formula E live in the early hours of Saturday mornings, and is straight back on another plane to Abu Dhabi to cover the Formula 1 race live for BBC Radio 5 Live! For Formula E, Gow will be joined in the ITV studio by Alex Brundle and Mark Priestley.

I’ve changed the usual format to see if there are ways that the information can be presented better, I may stick to the below for 2015 instead of having one long list. It also allows me to cover different series instead of using abbreviations throughout. I notice Sky are continuing Classic F1 races throughout December, so I have omitted that as well from the below. But, for the last time in 2014, here is the full UK Formula 1 schedule with all the details you need:

Formula 1 – Sessions (BBC TV)
21/11 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Two)
21/11 – 13:00 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Two)
22/11 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Two)
22/11 – 12:10 to 14:15 – Qualifying (BBC One)
23/11 – 12:10 to 15:30 – Race (BBC One)

Formula 1 – Sessions (BBC Radio)
21/11 – 08:55 to 10:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
21/11 – 12:55 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
22/11 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
22/11 – 13:00 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC Radio 5 Live)
23/11 – 12:45 to 15:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Formula 1 – Sessions (Sky Sports)
21/11 – 08:45 to 11:10 – Practice 1 (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 12:45 to 15:05 – Practice 2 (Sky Sports F1)
22/11 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3 (Sky Sports F1)
22/11 – 11:15 to 14:35 – Qualifying (Sky Sports F1)
22/11 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying (Sky1)
22/11 – 13:00 to 15:35 – Qualifying (Sky1 +1)
23/11 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race (Sky Sports F1)
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Formula 1 – Supplementary Programming
20/11 – 11:00 to 11:45 – Driver Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
20/11 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
20/11 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Gear Up for Abu Dhabi (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 16:00 to 16:45 – Team Press Conference (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
22/11 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
23/11 – 15:30 to 16:30 – Forum (BBC Red Button)
23/11 – 16:15 to 17:15 – Architects of F1: John Barnard (Sky Sports F1)
26/11 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report (Sky Sports F1)

GP2 Series (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 07:15 to 08:05 – Practice
21/11 – 15:05 to 15:45 – Qualifying
22/11 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1
23/11 – 10:15 to 11:30 – Race 2

GP3 Series (Sky Sports F1)
21/11 – 11:10 to 11:45 – Qualifying
22/11 – 08:00 to 09:00 – Race 1
23/11 – 08:55 to 09:55 – Race 2

Formula E – Putrajaya (ITV4)
22/11 – 05:00 to 07:30 – Race
22/11 – 18:00 to 19:00 – Highlights

As always, if anything changes I shall update this blog if necessary.

Update on November 18th at 16:10 – Sky are staying live on Saturday from 09:45 all the way through to 16:05, as their qualifying build-up has been extended to a mammoth 105 minutes.

Formula E announce live streaming for Putrajaya ePrix

The 2014 Putrajaya ePrix race day will be streamed live online, it has been announced on the Formula E website today.

Live streaming of practice, qualifying and the race itself will be available via the official Formula E website and via their iOS and Android app. Not all countries will get every session streamed live. It appears the UK audience will only be able to watch practice live on the series website, with the other sessions not being streamed live.

This follows on from yesterday’s news that Formula E have teamed up with cloud-based global video distribution and monetisation network Rightster. Rightster will manage Formula E’s online portfolio, including their YouTube channel. Notably, Formula E appears to care about its younger audience, as the aim is to “attract a younger audience specifically between the ages of 16 and 24”, something specifically noted by Ali Russell, Formula E’s Director of Media.

Patrick Walker, Chief Commercial Officer at Rightster, also said “Rightster has a proven track record in growing YouTube channels globally and we’re thrilled to be chosen as a partner for this exciting new sport. Given Formula E want to target a younger audience, YouTube is the perfect platform to achieve it. The Championship has already received a huge positive response on social media from younger generations and we look forward to applying our expertise to further deepen this engagement over the coming months.”