Belgian Grand Prix records highest peak audience in five years

Formula 1 benefited from poor weather across the United Kingdom last Sunday, with excellent audience figures for the Belgian Grand Prix, overnight viewing figures show.

Race
Live coverage of the race aired on Channel 4 from 13:00 to 16:30, with 2.15m (18.4%) watching, an increase of around half a million viewers on last year’s audience of 1.65m (19.6%) across a shorter 190-minute time slot. It is the highest Belgium figure for the free-to-air component of the audience since 2015, when BBC One’s broadcast averaged 2.44m (22.3%).

Sky simulcast their programming across their F1 channel and Sky 1 to a weighted total audience of 657k (5.6%). Sky Sports F1’s broadcast averaged 582k (5.0%) from 13:00 to 16:30, with Sky 1’s shorter show from 14:00 averaging 104k (0.9%). It is Sky’s highest audience for Spa on record, beating their previous highest of 617k (6.3%) in 2016.

For both broadcasters, the audience shares are slightly down on previous years, the dip representative of a higher viewing audience due to the poor weather conditions experienced across the United Kingdom. However, the dips are marginal rather than anything profound, showing that F1 grew almost in-line with the total audience increase.

The race started with 4.26m (36.1%) at 14:15 across Channel 4 and Sky. Apart from a ten-minute period from 14:40 to 14:50 where the audience level dropped below four million viewers due to British Touring Car Championship action on ITV4, viewing figures remained north of four million viewers. There was a brief surge to 4.23m (34.8%) as the top of the hour hit, before dipping back towards four million viewers.

An audience of 4.04m (33.0%) watched Sebastian Vettel take victory at 15:30. In a parallel universe, the peak could have been closer to 4.5 million viewers if the action on-track was closer, but it was not to be: the peak occurred at the start of the race.

At the time of the peak, an audience of 3.22m (27.2%) were watching Channel 4’s coverage, with a further 1.04m (8.8%) watching across Sky’s two channels, a split of 76:24. Sky’s peak came later in the afternoon, as 1.06m (8.8%) watched in the five-minute segment from 15:25. The F1 channel peaked with 921k (7.8%) at 14:15, with Sky 1 peaking with 180k (1.5%) at 15:30.

It is easily Sky’s highest peak for Belgium ever, beating their previous best of 969k (9.3%) in 2016. For Channel 4, the same fact is true: their peak audience was only 164,000 viewers lower than the BBC’s peak in 2015 of 3.38m (27.5%).

The combined average audience of 2.80 million viewers is comfortably the best for Belgium since 2015, when 2.91 million viewers watched across BBC One and Sky Sports. Last Sunday’s audience increased by 27.8 percent compared with last year’s average audience figure of 2.19 million viewers.

The peak audience of 4.26 million viewers is the highest for the Belgian Grand Prix since the 2013 running of the event when a peak audience of 4.52m (41.9%) watched, a fantastic number. The peak audience increased year-on-year by 22.2 percent, and compared with 2016 was up by 8.2 percent.

To have a peak audience higher than two BBC years (4.04 million in 2014 and 4.15 million in 2015) is highly unusual, and shows just how good Belgium’s audience figures are in the grand scheme of things. Of course, some of that is down to the weather conditions last Sunday, but increases compared to the past two years are now becoming par for the course for F1 in 2018.

Qualifying
Both Channel 4 and Sky Sports recorded slightly higher numbers for qualifying than twelve months ago.

Channel 4’s live broadcast of qualifying aired from 12:55 to 15:45, to an audience of 940k (12.3%), an increase – just – on last year’s figure of 937k (12.5%). The audience for Sky’s qualifying show followed the same trajectory, averaging 269k (2.5%) compared with 262k (2.5%) last year.

The combined audience of 1.21 million viewers is as a result up marginally on last year’s number of 1.20 million viewers.

The bigger difference comes with the peak figure. The qualifying session peaked with 2.09m (25.5%) at 14:55 across Channel 4 and Sky, an increase compared with last year’s figure of 2.01m (25.1%), and the highest for Belgium since 2015.

A peak of 1.62m (19.8%) watched Channel 4’s programme, an increase of 108,000 viewers compared with last year, but Sky’s peak figure of 468k (5.7%) is down 26,000 viewers.

BTCC performs well, but average for Speed with Guy Martin
Elsewhere, live coverage of the British Touring Car Championship from a rainy Knockhill averaged 216k (2.0%) from 11:00 to 18:15 on ITV4 on Sunday, a good number considering the competition. Race 1 averaged 277k (3.5%) from 11:50, peaking with 320k (3.9%).

The second race of the day clashed with the F1, but still fared well, averaging 220k (1.8%) from 14:25, peaking with 271k (2.2%) as the race was red flagged due to the poor weather conditions. Later, 392k (2.9%) watched Tom Chilton win the third and final race from 17:20, his victory peaking with 405k (2.8%) at 17:50.

Impressively, not once during the F1 did the touring car support programme drop below 100,000 viewers, showing how well the extended show works for ITV4 overall.

On Monday evening, a new episode of Speed with Guy Martin, averaged 1.54m (7.9%) on Channel 4 from 21:00 to 22:30, the lowest number so far for Martin’s F1 themed specials.

The show faced tough competition from BBC One’s new drama Bodyguard, as well as Monday Night Football action on Sky Sports between Tottenham and Manchester United.

The 2017 Belgian Grand Prix ratings report can be found here.

Scheduling: The 2018 Belgian Grand Prix / British MotoGP

12 down, 9 to go. Formula 1 returns from its Summer break, with the classic Spa Francorchamps circuit playing host to round 13 of the season, as the championship speeds towards the finish line.

Given what has been a frantic month so far for the sport, one would expect a packed weekend for all the UK’s F1 broadcasters, with no room for filler.

Sky have a new kid on the block, with a new programme on Thursday afternoons. Welcome to the Weekend is a live 30-minute show wrapping up the Thursday interviews with Natalie Pinkham presenting. The show replaces Paddock Uncut, which used to fulfil the same purpose and aired for 15 minutes on Thursdays prior to each weekend.

Elsewhere, a special 90-minute edition of Speed with Guy Martin airs on Bank Holiday Monday on Channel 4. As noted last month, the show sees Williams Heritage rebuild their FW08C car for Martin to race at Silverstone in a challenge that occurred prior to the British Grand Prix weekend.

Martin challenges Jenson Button, who will be in the banned six-wheel Williams FW08B car, which the team were going to race in the 1983 Formula One season. As with his two previous Formula 1 orientated programming in March 2016 (bike versus racing car) and September 2017 (pit stop challenge), the turnaround time from filming the challenge to airing has been short, with a six-week gap in total.

On two wheels, MotoGP are the ones heading to Silverstone this weekend, with live coverage as always on BT Sport 2. In addition to their usual coverage, BT are also covering both British Talent Cup races live, whilst a one-hour live magazine show will air live from Woodlands campsite on Thursday evening, with Suzi Perry presenting.

Because the F1 races this year are starting 70 minutes later, it means that the British MotoGP round starts at 13:00 UK time instead of 15:30 as it has done for the past few years, avoiding a clash with the F1.

Channel 4 F1
Sessions
24/08 – 09:55 to 11:35 – Practice 1
24/08 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2
25/08 – 10:55 to 12:25 – Practice 3
25/08 – 12:55 to 15:45 – Qualifying
26/08 – 13:00 to 17:35 – Race
=> 13:00 – Build-Up
=> 13:40 – Race
=> 16:30 – Reaction

Supplementary Programming
27/08 – 21:00 to 22:30 – Speed with Guy Martin: Classic F1 Special

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
24/08 – 09:45 to 11:50 – Practice 1 (also Sky Sports Main Event from 10:00)
24/08 – 13:45 to 15:50 – Practice 2 (also Sky Sports Main Event)
25/08 – 10:45 to 12:15 – Practice 3
25/08 – 13:00 to 15:40 – Qualifying
=> 13:00 – Pre-Show
=> 13:55 – Qualifying
26/08 – 12:30 to 17:10 – Race
=> 12:30 – Pit Lane Live
=> 13:30 – On the Grid
=> 14:05 – Race (also Sky1 from 14:00)
=> 16:30 – Paddock Live (also Sky1)

Supplementary Programming
23/08 – 14:00 to 14:30 – Driver Press Conference
23/08 – 17:00 to 17:30 – Welcome to the Weekend
25/08 – 16:55 to 17:30 – The F1 Show

BBC Radio F1
23/08 – 20:00 to 21:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
24/08 – 09:55 to 11:35 – Practice 1 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
24/08 – 13:55 to 15:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
25/08 – 10:55 to 12:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)
26/08 – 14:00 to 16:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live)

MotoGP – Britain
24/08 – 08:45 to 16:15 – Practice 1 and 2 (BT Sport 2)
24/08 – 19:00 to 20:00 – ICYMI Live (BT Sport 1)
25/08 – 09:00 to 16:15 (BT Sport 2)
=> 09:00 – Practice 3
=> 12:00 – Qualifying
26/08 – 08:45 to 16:00 (BT Sport 2)
=> 08:45 – Warm Ups
=> 10:30 – ~~Moto3~~ MotoGP
~~=> 12:30 – MotoGP~~
=> 12:45 – Moto3
=> 14:15 – Moto2
=> 15:30 – Chequered Flag

MotoGP – Britain (Channel 5)
28/08 – 19:00 to 20:00 – Highlights

British Talent Cup – Silverstone (BT Sport 2)
25/08 – 16:15 to 17:15 – Race 1
26/08 – 16:00 to 16:45 – Race 2

British Touring Car Championship – Knockhill (ITV4)
26/08 – 11:00 to 18:15 – Races

Formula Three European Championship – Misano
25/08 – 16:45 to 17:45 – Race 1 (BT Sport 3)
26/08 – 07:00 to 08:00 – Race 2 (BT Sport 2)
26/08 – 16:30 to 17:30 – Race 3 (BT Sport X2)

Formula Two – Belgium (Sky Sports F1)
24/08 – 11:50 to 12:45 – Practice (also Sky Sports Main Event)
24/08 – 15:50 to 16:30 – Qualifying
25/08 – 15:40 to 16:55 – Race 1
26/08 – 09:45 to 10:50 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Belgium (Sky Sports F1)
24/08 – 16:45 to 17:25 – Qualifying
25/08 – 08:30 to 09:25 – Race 1
26/08 – 08:30 to 09:15 – Race 2

IndyCar Series – Gateway 500 (BT Sport/ESPN)
25/08 (Sunday morning) – 01:00 to 04:00 – Race

Porsche Supercup – Belgium
26/08 – Race
=> 10:45 to 11:45 (Eurosport 2)
=> 11:15 to 12:00 (Sky Sports F1)

Virgin Australia Supercars – The Bend (Motorsport.tv)
25/08 – 07:30 to 09:00 – Race 1
26/08 – 04:45 to 07:00 – Race 2

The above schedules will be amended if anything changes.

Update on August 21st – It appears Sky have also dropped the F1 Report from their weekly schedule. I am chasing up an official line on this, and will post further in the forthcoming days with an update.

Update on August 25th at 20:30 – If you are recording MotoGP tomorrow, I strongly advise scheduling a massive amount of overrun. Inclement weather has prompted organisers to move the MotoGP race to 11:30 UK time. I suspect that on its own is not going to be enough, but we shall see. I’ve updated what the BT schedule is at the moment above.

Update on August 26th at 12:00 – Sky snuck in a Sky1 simulcast in their final exchanges last week, which I have added above.

Formula E’s fourth season struggles to pick up traction

The fourth season of the electric Formula E championship struggled to gain viewers in the United Kingdom, overnight audience figures suggest.

For the first time, Eurosport aired live coverage of the series in the UK, with every race covered besides the Paris E-Prix, which aired on tape delay.

Channel 5 provided free-to-air coverage for the second season running. However, the championship received less than optimal coverage from the broadcaster, with some races demoted to 5Spike, and others not aired live.

Race	Date	Live	Highlights
Hong Kong (R1)	02/12/2017	n/a	Channel 5 (tape-delay)
Hong Kong (R2)	03/12/2017	n/a	Channel 5 (tape-delay)
Marrakesh	13/01/2018	Channel 5	n/a
Santiago	03/02/2018	5Spike	n/a
Mexico City	03/03/2018	5Spike	Channel 5
Punta del Este	17/03/2018	Channel 5	n/a
Rome	14/04/2018	5Spike	Channel 5
Paris	28/04/2018	5Spike	Channel 5
Berlin	19/05/2018	Channel 5	n/a
Zurich	10/06/2018	Channel 5	n/a
New York (R1)	14/07/2018	5Spike	n/a
New York (R2)	15/07/2018	5Spike	Channel 5

Of the twelve races in total, four aired live on Channel 5, six aired live on 5Spike, whilst the season opening Hong Kong E-Prix double header aired in tape-delay form on Channel 5. When races aired live on 5Spike, Channel 5 committed to airing a 60-minute programme the following day. The exceptions were Santiago and the first race of the New York weekend, the latter failed to make the air following a technical error.

The Rome and Paris rounds of the championship clashed with live coverage of the Aviva Premiership Rugby, where Channel 5 have a contract to air five live games per season. Considering Formula E announced their calendar months in advance, and the final set of rugby games was announced in March, Channel 5 could, and should have, avoided Formula E weekends.

Having four Saturday’s of sporting action is better than two Saturday’s where they are competing against themselves for the same demographic. If anything, it demonstrates a serious level of incompetence from Channel 5. With inconsistent scheduling, channel switches, and large gaps between some rounds, it is little wonder that Formula E has struggled to gain traction this season.

Where Channel 5’s main channel did not air coverage live, this site has accounted for 5Spike’s live coverage, combined with the Channel 5 highlights programme that aired on most occasions. Eurosport used Formula E’s World Feed output as the basis for their coverage. Instead of taking the World Feed commentary led by Jack Nicholls, Eurosport opted to use their own in-house team off-tube, usually led by Tom Gaymor and Mike Conway.

Fans cannot watch the race itself live via Formula E’s social media channels, including YouTube, as the existing broadcasting rights restrict this.

The 2017-18 story
The season started with an average audience of 217,000 viewers watching both Hong Kong races across Eurosport and Channel 5, a marginal increase on last year’s figure of 206,000 viewers on Channel 5.

Whilst the tape-delay situation was frustrating at the time, you can see Channel 5’s logic in it: a new presentation setup combined with the time zone difference meaning that a 09:00 time slot is significantly better than a 06:45 time slot.

Viewing figures took a downward turn with Marrakech, which averaged 198,000 viewers on January 13th, a poor figure for an afternoon round. With no highlights programme on Channel 5, Santiago bottomed out at 118,000 viewers across 5Spike and Eurosport.

Highlights of the Mexico City E-Prix on Channel 5’s main channel helped push its combined audience of 290,000 viewers above last year’s figure of 238,000 viewers, with Punta del Este two weeks later (live on Channel 5) also in a similar ballpark.

But channel hunting for Paris and Berlin meant that Formula E never hit 300,000 viewers until the Zurich E-Prix, which averaged 301,000 viewers. The combined peak audience of 412,000 viewers was also the highest of season five.

The season ended badly in New York, with a combined audience of just 69,000 viewers watching Jean-Eric Vergne winning the championship in race one, due to Channel 5’s highlights programme failing to make the air. The second race of the weekend picked up only 146,000 viewers.

Combined average and final thoughts
An average audience of 18k (0.20%) watched Eurosport’s coverage across the whole season, covering 15-minutes of build-up and some post-race reaction. The highlight for Eurosport was the Santiago E-Prix in February, which averaged 32k (0.17%), peaking with 65k (0.35%).

Formula E for Eurosport, in the United Kingdom at least, is filler and nothing more, part of a wider pan-European deal. If anything, Eurosport’s audience figures show that Formula E needs a free-to-air deal in this country otherwise the series will sink without trace.

Collectively, Channel 5’s coverage attracted a weighted average of 177k (1.8%) across the 12 rounds, a significant decrease on season three’s audience of 280k (2.6%), following the same trajectory that ITV’s coverage faced between their first two seasons, although it should be noted that ITV did not mess with the scheduling in the same way that Channel 5.

When Formula E airs live on 5Spike, the championship loses three-quarters of its audience. The races that Channel 5 aired live, including Hong Kong’s tape-delayed coverage, averaged 220k (2.2%), whilst 5Spike’s live races attracted 61k (0.46%). It is also worth pointing out that Formula E consistently rated below both Channel 5’s and 5Spike’s respective slot averages.

A combined audience of 196,000 viewers watched Channel 5’s and Eurosport’s season four coverage of Formula E, a hefty decrease of 30 percent on the 2016-17 average audience of 280,000 viewers. The audience is an increase on season two’s average audience of 138,000 viewers when the championship aired live on ITV4, but down on season one’s average of 216,000 viewers.

When factoring in ITV’s highlights programming, season four is likely to be the lowest on record for Formula E in the UK. Where could live free-to-air coverage of Formula E be heading next in the UK? Head over here to find out…

F1 soars to highest lunch time peak audience on Sky Sports in six years

The Hungarian Grand Prix was quite the weekend for Sky Sports in the UK, as it recorded some of its highest Formula 1 audience figures in years, overnight viewing figures show.

Race
Live coverage of the race aired on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event from 13:00 to 16:30 to an audience of 1.02m (10.5%), an excellent figure. The audience is Sky’s highest for Formula 1 since the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix, which averaged 1.09m (4.8%).

A fairer comparison would be with Sky’s viewing figures for their other European races, which is where last weekend’s race stands out. Hungary was Sky’s highest for a European round since the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, when an audience of 1.10m (11.9%) watched Sky’s coverage.

An audience of 669k (6.8%) watched via the F1 channel, with the remaining 353k (3.6%) choosing to watch via Sky Sports Main Event.

Sky’s coverage peaked with 1.55m (14.5%) at 15:45, their third highest peak figure for a European race, only behind the 2012 German and Bahrain rounds! The Germany race from six years ago is top of the tree is because Sky made the race available to Freeview customers as a one-off experiment.

Races in America, Mexico and Canada have peaked at a similar level since, but again is an unfair comparison with Hungary due to the time zone differences, with more viewers available to watch in the evening.

At the time of the peak, 1.06m (9.9%) were watching on Sky Sports F1, whilst 492k (4.6%) tuned into the Main Event simulcast. Both Sky’s average and peak audience figures rose by around 45 percent year-on-year.

> Analysis: Formula 1 shines as UK TV viewing figures increase at half way stage of 2018

Later in the day, Channel 4’s highlights programme from 18:45 to 21:00 averaged 2.08m (11.6%), an increase on last year’s audience figure of 1.96m (13.8%). Considering the German Grand Prix highlights show averaged 2.26m (13.8%) one week earlier, Channel 4’s figure looks low in the context of both that, and Sky’s strong numbers.

A peak of 2.76m (14.2%) watched Channel 4’s broadcast, the peak occurring at 20:25. The poor weather, combined with very little sporting opposition, may well have worked in Sky Sports F1’s favour on Sunday, denting Channel 4’s highlights slightly.

Thanks to Sky’s viewing figures, the combined audience of 3.10 million viewers is the highest for a European round since the 2016 German Grand Prix, and the highest for Hungary since 2015 when the race averaged 4.61 million viewers.

The combined peak audience of 4.31 million viewers is 10,000 viewers higher than one week ago, but still 31,000 viewers below that of the 2016 German Grand Prix! Last week’s highlights show on Channel 4 had stronger growth throughout the broadcast, which explains why there is a closer differential between the average and peak for Hungary compared with Germany.

Qualifying and Analysis
Coverage of a wet qualifying session performed excellently, with the highest audience for qualifying since 2015, and Channel 4’s highest on record.

Live coverage of qualifying aired across Sky Sports F1 and Main Event to an audience of 429k (5.7%) from 13:00 to 15:30, their highest ever audience for a Hungarian qualifying session. Sky’s audience was split 361k (4.8%) to 68k (0.9%) in the F1 channel’s favour. A peak audience of 779k (9.7%) watched the battle for pole position unfold at 14:55.

Later in the day, Channel 4’s highlights programme averaged 1.62m (12.9%) from 17:30 to 19:00, the broadcasters’ highest ever audience for a qualifying programme. Their show peaked with 2.12m (15.8%) at 18:40 as Lewis Hamilton splashed his way to pole position.

The combined audience of 2.05 million viewers is the highest for qualifying since the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It really was a weekend of highs, in just about every element where F1 and UK viewing figures are concerned.

Twitter trends are not the most reliable indicator, but I did find it interesting how F1 dominated the UK trends on Sunday afternoon, something that I have not said for an exclusive pay-TV race in years.

Overall, F1 is in an excellent position ready for the second half of the championship. Anecdotally, it feels like F1 is clawing back ground it has lost in recent years on both free-to-air and pay-TV. After the Summer break, F1 moves to Belgium where the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel continues…

The 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix ratings report can be found here.

Formula 1 shines as UK TV viewing figures increase at half way stage of 2018

Formula 1’s viewing figures have increased in the United Kingdom at the half way stage of the season, with Channel 4 contributing most to the increase, analysis conducted by this site suggests.

> Increases across the board for Channel 4
> Fewer people tuning into Sky’s wrap-around coverage
> Sensational Silverstone top dog so far

Audience figures for Formula 1 have generally been decreasing since 2012, when the BBC opted to share Formula 1 with Sky Sports, although the first half of both 2013 and 2015 did buck the trend.

Channel 4 took control of the BBC’s free-to-air element starting in 2016, after the corporation exited their contract at the end of 2015. The change exacerbated Formula 1’s audience decline due to Channel 4’s lower audience reach, and less cross-promotion opportunities available. How do viewing figures look for the first half of 2018?

All viewing figures presented in this piece, and across this site, are overnight audience figures supplied by Overnights.tv, known in the industry as live + VOSDAL (video on same day as live). They include anyone who watched the programme on the same day, up until the 02:00 cut-off point.

To outline two phrases referenced frequently in this piece:

The average audience is an average of viewers for every minute of the programme from start to finish
- To keep calculations equal compared with yesteryear, this means using specific ‘chunks’ of Channel 4’s and Sky’s programming, more information below
The peak audience is the five-minute segment of the programme which attracted the most viewers
- For a Formula 1 race, this can be either the start of a boring race, or the final phase of an exciting Grand Prix

What this post does not include is audience figures from on-demand systems such as Now TV, Sky Go or All 4, nor does include radio figures for BBC’s Formula 1 coverage on Radio 5 Live. All of them will make a difference to the overall reach of Formula 1.

Overnight audience figures only tell part of the story, but are still important in an ever-changing world, especially as broadcasters’ clamour for sports programming, which fans traditionally watch live and by harder to reach demographics.

The figures exclude the Hungarian Grand Prix, an important note because it appears Sky recorded some of their biggest figures for F1 in a long time last Sunday (more to come on that in a separate piece), and Formula 1’s largest audience of the season so far.

Sky’s 2018 story
As usual, Sky’s coverage in 2018 has aired live on their dedicated Formula 1 channel. In a change to previous seasons, simulcasts have taken place beyond the Sky Sports network, with Sky’s general entertainment channel Sky One getting in on the action. Sky’s figures exclude those who watched via Sky Go or Now TV.

To calculate the average audience on race day, we use Sky’s three-and-a-half-hour portion, from 70 minutes before lights out to around 40 minutes after the race. Typically, this takes us from 13:00 to 16:30, or equivalent. The average for 2018 encompasses the final half of Pit Lane Live, On the Grid and then the race itself. Sky’s Paddock Live show is not included.

Analysis conducted by this site indicate that fewer people are watching Sky’s wrap-around programming but are still tuning in for the race. The average audience tuning in to Sky’s programming from start to finish has decreased year-on-year, but the peak audience compared with 2017 has remained static.

The simulcasts have failed to stop Sky’s average audience at the half way point of the season from declining for the fourth season in a row. Sky’s coverage on race day have averaged 577,000 viewers from 13:00 to 16:30, or equivalent. During the first half of 2014, 746,000 viewers watched the action on Sky.

This figure has consistently dropped year-on-year: from 657,000 viewers in 2015, to 617,000 viewers in 2016 and 598,000 viewers last season. Now, another 21,000 viewers on average have stopped watching Sky’s race day broadcasts, at least via the television set.

Sky have aired six races exclusively live so far in 2018 to an average audience of 585,000 viewers. The five races Sky shared with Channel 4 averaged 568,000 viewers, a small difference between the two figures.

For the nine races this season where we can make year-on-year comparisons (France and Germany the exceptions), five races dropped compared with 2017, with four gaining ground. The Spanish and Monaco weekends are the stand-out this year for Sky, both recording year-on-year increases of nearly 25 percent, with China and Britain increasing by around 2.5 percent.

However, all five races which decreased year-on-year dropped by double-digit percentage figures. Europe (down 31.7 percent) and Austria (down 27.9 percent, shared with Channel 4 for the first time) were the main casualties for the pay-TV broadcaster, the latter also due to the World Cup. Canada struggled (down 18.3 percent), facing sporting opposition from ITV’s Soccer Aid.

A peak audience of 954,000 viewers watched Sky’s race day coverage of Formula 1 so far this season, identical to last year’s peak figure. Fewer people are watching Sky’s race build-up and post-session analysis than in previous years but are still tuning in for the race itself. The percentage difference between Sky’s average and peak audience figures is the largest it has ever been at this point at 65.3 percent (compared with 59.6 percent last year).

Structurally, Sky have changed the format of their pre-race programming, meaning that from a recording perspective, there is no longer a jump-on point at the top of the hour, in the hour before the race, which may have caused their overall reach to decrease.

Three races have increased their peak audience on Sky this year: Monaco (up 19.0 percent) and Spain (up 14.0 percent) the highlights. The peak audiences for Australia, Canada, Europe, and Austria all decreased by over ten percent year-on-year.

When you look at the increase for Channel 4’s audience figures below, Sky’s figures may be somewhat concerning, considering what may lie ahead in 2019 if the mooted Channel 4 highlights deal collapses.

Channel 4’s 2018 story
Two components make-up Channel 4’s race day figures: their six highlight shows, combined with their five live race day broadcasts. To calculate the average audience, we use Channel 4’s build-up, plus their race block as billed in the EPG, but not their post-race reaction segment. Channel 4’s figures exclude those who may have watched via their on demand All 4 platform.

So far in 2018, Channel 4’s race day programming has averaged 1.90 million viewers, an increase on 2017’s average audience figure of 1.86 million viewers. Channel 4’s mid-year figure for 2018 includes one additional highlights programme compared with 2017. Without this highlights programme, Channel 4’s average will be slightly higher.

Channel 4’s live programming so far in 2018 have averaged 2.16 million viewers, an increase on last year’s figure of 2.11 million viewers. Their highlight shows have averaged 1.68 million viewers, compared with 1.60 million at the same stage last season.

The first half of 2018 has been excellent for Channel 4. For the nine races where we can make year-on-year comparisons, seven increased their audience volume. The first five races of the season all recorded an increased audience for the free-to-air broadcaster.

China (up 23.8 percent) and Spain (up 10.0 percent) were the highlights for Channel 4, both literally and figuratively. Canada (down 11.7 percent) and Austria (down 13.2 percent) struggled for Channel 4, although both have explanations: Canada was a late-night programme for the third year running, whilst Austria clashed with the World Cup.

The broadcaster has also set some record numbers for their highlights programming:

The 2018 Spanish Grand Prix averaged 2.33 million viewers, the highest since BBC’s coverage of the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix [2.77 million]
The 2018 German Grand Prix peaked with 3.11 million viewers, the highest figure since BBC’s coverage of the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix [3.27 million]

Whilst the figures pale in comparison to what the BBC was attracting in 2015 and before, the audience figures show that viewers prefer watching Channel 4’s highlights programming, and (assuming F1 cannot return to BBC or ITV), F1 would be in a significantly worse position without Channel 4’s highlights in 2019.

A peak audience of 2.71 million viewers have watched Channel 4’s coverage this year, an increase of 4.1 percent on the equivalent 2017 figure of 2.60 million viewers. Eight out of the nine races where we can make comparisons have increased their peak audience, only Canada lets the side down with a 5.4 percent drop compared with 2017.

The gap between Channel 4’s peak audience for their live and highlights shows has remained around one million viewers. Channel 4’s live races have attracted a peak audience of 3.27 million viewers, an increase of 5.6 percent on last year’s figure of 3.10 million viewers; whilst a peak audience of 2.24 million viewers have watched their highlights programming, also an increase on 2017’s figure.

Their highest peak figure so far this year came with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in April, which peaked with 3.66 million viewers, Channel 4’s highest peak figure for a lunchtime race since the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Combined audience and final thoughts
At the half way stage of 2018, the UK combined television average audience stands at 2.48 million viewers, a slight increase on the equivalent figure in 2017 of 2.45 million viewers.

Where races aired live across Channel 4 and Sky, an audience of 2.73 million viewers watched, another small increase of 10,000 viewers on the first half of 2017. Channel 4’s increases and Sky’s decreases in this regard have cancelled each other out, resulting in negligible year-on-year change.

The numbers are more positive when looking at races that aired in highlights form on Channel 4. A combined audience of 2.27 million viewers watched on these occasions, an increase of 3.4 percent compared with 2017’s figure of 2.19 million viewers. Considering Canada and France brought in low audiences, this is an excellent figure suggesting Channel 4’s highlights are punching above their weight – a strong case you might argue for Channel 4 airing highlights in 2019. Three of the top five races this year aired live on free-to-air television:

01 – 3.06 million viewers – British Grand Prix (live)
02 – 2.99 million viewers – Spanish Grand Prix (highlights)
03 – 2.95 million viewers – German Grand Prix (highlights)
04 – 2.89 million viewers – Bahrain Grand Prix (live)
05 – 2.87 million viewers – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (live)

As referenced earlier in the article, the Hungarian Grand Prix has since usurped the British Grand Prix to the top of the tree for 2018, Hungary not part of the calculations in this post since it falls into the second half of the season.

What is notable is how the top five races all averaged above 2.85 million viewers. In the same table at the half-way stage last year, the fifth highest race averaged 2.55 million viewers! If anything, it demonstrates how three races this season (Canada, France, and Austria) have had a significant impact on the mid-year audience figures. Those three races averaged under two million viewers. We cannot ‘not’ count them, the races happened after all.

The sensational British, German, and Azerbaijani rounds all enter the top five, with Spain and Bahrain rounding out proceedings. The presence of the World Cup might have dented France and Austria significantly; however, it did not have a profound effect on the rounds that followed, with Formula 1 bouncing back immediately from its brief slump.

A combined peak audience of 3.65 million viewers have watched Formula 1 so far in 2018, an increase on last year’s figure of 3.54 million viewers. For races that aired in highlights form on free-to-air television, a combined peak of 3.23 million viewers watched, compared with 4.16 million viewers for live races. Both figures are up by around 150,000 viewers on the equivalent 2017 figures of 3.07 million viewers and 4.01 million viewers respectively.

Unpredictably is helping Formula 1 this year, with Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull all capable of winning on a good day. An interesting question is whether Formula One Management’s decision to move races 70 minutes later than in previous years has helped UK viewing figures.

Given that races across the board, irrespective of whether the race has aired on free-to-air television in highlights form or aired live have increased year-on-year, looking at the figures, I feel that the time change has made very little difference to the overall numbers, if at all. Which is a good thing for Liberty Media.

It is also possible looking at the figures that Sky’s F1 audience is healthier compared to previous years when factoring in Sky Go and Now TV. They all could make up the difference, but we simply do not know as Sky do not release these figures publicly.

This site has reached out to the BBC, Channel 4, and Sky Sports for comment.