A new documentary series telling the story of Formula 1 through the eyes of Bernie Ecclestone premieres later this month.

The series, called Lucky! will air across a multitude of streaming platforms, including in the UK and Ireland on Discovery+. Manish Pandey, who produced the Senna movie, is the man behind bringing the story to life through Lucky!

The series contains many of Ecclestone’s thoughts through interviews exclusively conducted for Lucky! as well as a rich array of archive footage from the official Formula 1 vault.

Production on the documentary series began in 2020, and I am thrilled to confirm that I have been collaborating with Manish and production company Jiva Maya throughout 2022 to add an additional layer of storytelling to the series.

Formula 1 evolved significantly during Ecclestone’s tenure leading the sport, including on the broadcasting front, with a television revolution.

To help the team tell the Lucky! story, I have been researching worldwide audience data, combined with historical UK television schedule data.

Trying to calculate a global historical F1 audience figure was challenging, but one made possible through hours of research, which viewers can see during the second half of Lucky! from episodes five to eight.

Combining publicly available data (both for the season and individual races) with other insights such as population data and total TV penetration, has allowed us to present a reasonable trend spanning the past four decades.

The trend shows how F1’s popularity boomed during the 1980s, plateaued following the death of Ayrton Senna, before rising again during Michael Schumacher’s reign at the top.

Lucky! – Formula 1: How it happened as told by Bernie Ecclestone, motor-racing’s Wizard of Oz. An 8 part series coming to Warner Bros Discovery 27th December 2022 pic.twitter.com/UBoBylRhIm

— Manish Pandey (@ManishPics) November 23, 2022

In addition, I curated over 2,000 data points from the BBC’s Genome service, combining them with historical Radio Times television listings sourced from the BBC’s Written Archives Centre and The Library of Birmingham.

The research has allowed us to quantify for the first time how Formula 1’s UK free-to-air television exposure has changed over the past four decades. Keep an eye on the Motorsport Broadcasting site for more in-depth analysis on this front.

From just 40 minutes of live coverage per race in 1988 to nearly 3 hours on average a decade later in the UK, Lucky! shows how the sport changed over the decades.

For me personally, it is the first time ever I have contributed – and been credited – on a Formula 1 television documentary in this way, which is something I never thought I would say.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with Manish and the team on the Lucky! project during 2022, and I would like to extend a massive thank you to them for the kind words of encouragement throughout.

Lucky! premieres in the UK on Discovery+ on Tuesday 27^th December, and overseas on platforms including DAZN, Viaplay and ESPN LATAM.

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After a three-month break and a few interruptions along the way, Motorsport Broadcasting is back, with a new look.

I honestly want to say thank you to everyone who commented and messaged following my announcement last October.

During the last year, there were times where I felt like there were fewer people reading the site, or enjoying what I wrote, and that the site was becoming a burden to maintain. What you made me realise was that this is simply not the case.

If anything, I needed a break, and I am glad I took said break. I have reflected on events, both inside and outside of Motorsport Broadcasting, trying to focus on the long-term picture, long after this pandemic has disappeared.

There will be a day when motor sport journalists and experts can mingle in the paddock. There will be a day when fans, en masse, can flock to racing circuits across the UK and worldwide to watch their favourite drivers race. There will be a day when we can smell the rubber for ourselves.

And there will be a day when I walk into a circuit representing this brilliant site once again to chat to the wonderful artists that bring this amazing sport to the small screen. I honestly cannot wait until that day comes (although I suspect I will be a little misty eyed when it comes).

It is for those reasons why stopping Motorsport Broadcasting would be an error of judgement on my behalf. As the 7 Habits say, “Begin with the end in mind,” thinking about the long-term goals, not the short-term hurdles.

Some changes

I want Motorsport Broadcasting to be distinctive in nature, of high quality, and a reputable source for motor sport broadcasting content.

Motorsport Broadcasting will focus on exclusive news stories broken before mainstream media outlets, whilst also taking readers behind the scenes to show how the sport reaches fans worldwide.

If you work in motor sport broadcasting and want this site to shine a light on your part of the world, drop me a message. This site is authored by a fan, for the fans.

Underpinning the distinctiveness is an emphasis on analysis, both social media and television, understanding the latest numbers and providing a unique take on the story of the day.

And lastly, Motorsport Broadcasting is interested in hearing what you think of the current landscape, through guest articles. Occasionally, the site may deviate onto other topics, where time allows.

I have, regrettably, decided to stop publishing scheduling articles on a regular basis, for the moment at least. I know many of you rely on them, but ‘list’ content is not only low quality, but also very time consuming to compile.

Instead, I intend to publish schedules for the key events in the motor sport calendar (e.g., F1 and MotoGP season openers, British Grand Prix, Le Mans, and Indianapolis 500), supplementing that with additional information in standalone articles where time allows.

I enjoy giving you, the reader, a unique perspective on this sport. When I do write content, I want my head to be in that space.

There will be fewer articles but of higher quality during 2021. Previously I became irritated if I did not write something by a certain date, but now I have accepted, that it is okay to go a couple of weeks without writing.

2021. Time to get started….

Thanks,
Dave
Owner and Editor of Motorsport Broadcasting

In a parallel universe, Formula 1 is gearing up for its first European race of the 2020 season, returning to the iconic Zandvoort circuit after a frantic four fly away races, whilst MotoGP also prepares to head back to Europe.

Unfortunately, we live in unusual times, whereby motor sport is on indefinite hold, as COVID-19 takes hold on everything we know normal.

Today marks Motorsport Broadcasting’s eighth birthday, although it does not feel like a joyous occasion currently.

There is ‘glue’ that holds every sporting site together: the knowledge that, as one sporting occasion passes, another is fast approaching. For every review, there is also a preview.

The ‘glue’ that holds those sites, and this site, has all but disappeared in recent weeks, with Esports and archive material dominating the pages. In turn, the number of visitors has also sharply fallen.

And, as much as I enjoy watching the F1 and IndyCar Esports events, writing about it does not enthuse me as much, especially on a regular basis.

For every day that passes, lets hold onto the fact that we are one day closer to the lights going green once again. We do not know when, and we do not know where. But that day will come, for F1, for IndyCar, for MotoGP, or closer to home for BTCC.

On the broadcasting front, the COVID-19 pandemic raises questions at every level, for every rights holder and every sporting federation as to the long-term validity of those contracts, and whether entities may need to renegotiate them, or declare them void.

No one knows the answers, but be sure that Motorsport Broadcasting will report on any changes as and when they occur.

Highlights from the past year
Over the past year since the site turned seven, Motorsport Broadcasting did take the opportunity to sniff around a few paddocks, so in the downtime, here are a few highlights worth revisiting.

• BlackBook Motorsport Forum – This writer attended the annual event last August, with leading figures from across the industry in attendance.
  • I caught up with F1’s Director of Marketing and Communications Ellie Norman for a chat, as well as getting the low-down from the panel on the challenge that faces motor sport in the over-the-top arena.
• Preparing for the future – Two championships gave Motorsport Broadcasting an insight into the future.
  • Firstly, MotoGP gave me an insight on how they are preparing for the inaugural KymiRing race, set to take place in July, whilst World Endurance Championship organisers explained to me the rationale behind their new graphics set.
• W Series adventures – A few weeks earlier, I headed down to Brands Hatch, to find out how the series had embedded itself into the DTM setup, also taking time to chat to presenter Lee McKenzie on the art of broadcasting.

To everyone reading this: stay safe, both physically and mentally, and hopefully it will not be long before we can talk about motor sport broadcasting at full steam once again.

Thanks,
Dave
Owner and Editor of Motorsport Broadcasting

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