BBC and Sky F1 – 2015 review programming

The Formula 1 cupboard looks fairly bare over the festive period, with all of BBC’s and Sky’s season review programming airing way before the festive season even gets into top gear. With Sky Sports Darts replacing the F1 channel, it means that all of their programming is done and dusted before Christmas.

Sky’s season review is currently scheduled to air just before Christmas, with their offering beginning with the Midweek Report season review. BBC are airing their season review show on Saturday 12th December.

Elsewhere, the F1 season review DVD is released on Friday 18th December, running at around 280 minutes. The Blu-ray version released the following Monday with around 25 minutes of extra footage. In any event, I imagine a large proportion of the season review, excluding the race footage, will come from features that have been on the F1 App this season.

BBC F1
12/12/15 – 13:00 to 14:00 – Season Review (BBC One)

Sky F1
04/12/15 – 20:00 to 21:00 – The F1 Show (Sky Sports F1)
09/12/15 – 20:30 to 21:30 – Midweek Report Season Review (Sky Sports F1)
21/12/15 – 17:30 to 19:00 – F1 Season Review: It’s Hammer Time! (Sky Sports 1)

If anything is added, I will update the schedule above.

Update on December 4th at 21:00 – There is indeed a Sky review show over Christmas, on Monday 21st December. This isn’t in their schedules as of writing (which means it’ll miss the Christmas TV guide print deadlines) but I’ve added it above.

Update on December 7th – As one thing is added, another disappears. Highlights of the AUTOSPORT Awards, which were scheduled for this Friday at 20:00, have since disappeared from Sky Sports F1’s schedule (although they did turn up on Sky’s On Demand service).

Update on December 14th at 17:30 – Sky’s review show next Monday is in fact not a season review. It is in fact an interview with Lewis Hamilton, I quote: “a chat with the reigning Formula 1 champion, who claimed his third drivers’ title in 2015”

Update on December 14th at 20:50 – The Sky EPG goes with the original billing for Sky’s season review next Monday, so I’ve updated the schedule above.

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.

Formula 1 stumbles to the finish in 2015

The 2015 Formula One season ended with a whimper on Sunday afternoon, as 2.6 million tuned into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the UK, overnight viewing figures show.

Race
Live coverage of the race, moved to BBC Two at the eleventh hour due to the conclusion of the Davis Cup, averaged 2.21m (16.9%) from 12:00 to 15:15, recording a five-minute peak of 3.08m (20.8%) as the race came to a conclusion. The race programme on Sky Sports F1 averaged 399k (3.0%) across the same timeslot. Sky’s coverage peaked with 632k (4.6%) in the five minutes from 14:00, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as this was in the gap between the first two Premier League games yesterday.

As alluded to above, the race faced competition from the Davis Cup on BBC One, which itself averaged 3.01m (22.9%) from 12:00 to 15:45. The decision to air the Davis Cup finale on BBC One was unsurprising, what was ridiculous however was that this was decided an hour before both shows were due to go on the air – certainly not something you expect when both events were known weeks in advance. I’m not convinced that number justified switching the two events at the last minute.

Comparisons with 2014 for the race are redundant given that last year was a championship decider and yesterday was not. Nevertheless, the combined average for Abu Dhabi of 2.60 million is comfortably the lowest ever recorded for that race. The previous low was 4.03 million from 2013, traditionally Abu Dhabi does well but for a variety of factors, viewers were not interested in Formula 1 yesterday. There are also these facts, based on the overnight viewing figures:

> lowest season finale since at least 2005
> lowest ‘European time zone’ race audience since the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix
> lowest BBC F1 audience for a live race in the ‘European time zone’ since the corporation returned to the sport
> lowest Sky Sports F1 audience for a ‘European time zone’ race ever

The consolidated figures will make a few of the points above null and void, timeshift is larger in 2015 than in 2010, but I feel that the points still stand. For reference, ‘European time zone’ means any race that has aired live here during the lunch time hours, so anything from 11:00 through to around 14:00. There are multiple reasons for yesterday’s very low rating: increased competition, the switch from BBC One to BBC Two will have hurt the same-day timeshift figures and pure fatigue given that the championship race was over a long time ago.

However, Formula 1 has faced bigger competition before in recent years (Wimbledon finals and major games in football competitions) and has not dropped as low as Abu Dhabi did. Viewing patterns have changed as well, you cannot escape that fact. I will analyse the figures more in a post coming soon, but the picture, whichever way you want to paint it, is not promising.

Qualifying and Pointless
The final qualifying programme of the season averaged 2.05m (21.2%) from 12:10 to 14:05 on BBC One, with Sky Sports F1 adding a further 258k (2.7%) from 12:00 to 14:35. To end on a positive note, a Grand Prix themed edition of Pointless Celebrities averaged a massive 5.73m (29.2%) from 18:00 on BBC One on Saturday, one of its highest ever ratings.

The 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ratings report can be found here.

BBC F1 versus Sky Sports F1: Your 2015 Verdict

Year 4 of the current BBC and Sky Sports Formula 1 contract has come to an end with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 2015 has seen Lewis Hamilton clinch his third Formula 1 championship, alongside the emergence of Max Verstappen and the downfall of McLaren.

I’ve commented a lot this year on BBC’s and Sky’s coverage, now it is your chance to give your opinion on all things BBC and Sky in 2015, and how both sides can improve in 2016. What is the best that each team currently has to offer? Obviously this assumes that nothing is changing. Because what happens next? We would like to know, but at the moment we simply do not know. Will BBC even be broadcasting Formula 1 on TV in 2016, or is the newspaper speculation simply hot air? As said by Suzi Perry at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix show, over a caption for the 2016 Australian Grand Prix: “We will see you next year, hopefully.”

With TV viewing figures stagnant, it would be interesting to know if you have been consuming Formula 1 differently in 2015. More iPlayer, less TV, more highlights, less live? The picture is definitely changing, are you part of that change?

Assuming the contractual situation does not radically change in the next few weeks, I will publish the best thoughts and opinions in a new post just before Christmas. For those of you wanting to comment on all things MotoGP, head this way…

Scheduling: The 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2015 Formula One season comes to an end with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as the events off the circuit dominate the agenda. At this stage, whether the Abu Dhabi race next weekend will signify the end of anything, remains up in the air.

What we do know is that the BBC and Sky will be broadcasting this race live, with both sides fielding their full line-up. There’s a special Formula 1 edition of BBC One game show Pointless Celebrities airing on Saturday evening. The four teams consist of current BBC F1 pundit David Coulthard and new World Endurance Champion Mark Webber. BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Allan McNish and Claire Williams make up team two. 1992 champion Nigel Mansell and Murray Walker are next up, with Christian Horner and BBC F1 presenter Suzi Perry rounding off the line-up.

The two review shows will air before Christmas meaning that, alongside the absence of Sky Sports F1 over the festive period, there will be very little new F1 programming over the off-season until testing in February kicks into gear. Elsewhere, Channel 4 are airing highlights of the Race of Champions, presented by Charlie Webster.

As always, the full schedule is below…

BBC F1
BBC TV – Sessions
27/11 – 08:55 to 10:45 – Practice 1 (BBC Two)
27/11 – 13:00 to 14:35 – Practice 2 (BBC Red Button)
28/11 – 09:55 to 11:05 – Practice 3 (BBC Two)
28/11 – 12:10 to 14:05 – Qualifying (BBC One)
29/11 – 12:00 to 15:15 – Race (BBC Two)
29/11 – 15:15 to 16:00 – Forum (BBC Red Button)

BBC Radio – Sessions
29/11 – 12:45 to 16:00 – Race (BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra)

Supplementary Programming
26/11 – 21:00 to 22:00 – Preview (BBC Radio 5 Live)
27/11 – 18:45 to 19:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)
28/11 – 11:05 to 12:05 – F1 Rewind: Amazing Races (BBC Two)
28/11 – 18:00 to 18:50 – Pointless Celebrities (BBC One)
28/11 – 19:45 to 20:00 – Inside F1 (BBC News Channel)

Sky Sports F1
Sessions
27/11 – 08:45 to 10:50 – Practice 1
27/11 – 12:45 to 14:50 – Practice 2
28/11 – 09:45 to 11:15 – Practice 3
28/11 – 12:00 to 14:35 – Qualifying
29/11 – 11:30 to 16:15 – Race
=> 11:30 – Track Parade
=> 12:00 – Pit Lane Live
=> 12:30 – Race
=> 15:30 – Paddock Live

Supplementary Programming
26/11 – 11:00 to 11:30 – Driver Press Conference
26/11 – 20:45 to 21:00 – Paddock Uncut: Abu Dhabi
27/11 – 16:00 to 16:45 – Team Press Conference
27/11 – 17:00 to 18:00 – The F1 Show
02/12 – 20:30 to 21:00 – Midweek Report

GP2 Series – Abu Dhabi (Sky Sports F1)
27/11 – 07:15 to 08:05 – Practice
27/11 – 15:05 to 15:45 – Qualifying
28/11 – 14:35 to 16:05 – Race 1
29/11 – 10:15 to 11:30 – Race 2

GP3 Series – Abu Dhabi (Sky Sports F1)
27/11 – 11:10 to 11:45 – Qualifying
28/11 – 08:20 to 09:20 – Race 1
29/11 – 08:55 to 09:55 – Race 2

Race of Champions Highlights (Channel 4)
28/11 – 07:05 to 08:00 – Day 1
29/11 – 06:45 to 07:40 – Day 2

If anything changes, I will update the schedule above.

Update on November 29th – A very late BBC schedule change. Due to the conclusion of the Davis Cup final, it has swapped with the F1, so the F1 is now on BBC Two. Why on earth they did not just put the Davis Cup on BBC One in the first place, I do not know.