Across an entire Grand Prix weekend, the BBC F1 and Sky Sports F1 teams produce around eleven hours of extra content, in addition to the Formula One Management (FOM) World Feed that they, along with all the other broadcasters, have access to. There’s a fair bit of content that probably will not get watched by fans outside of that particular race weekend, probably because the segment is no longer relevant or the VT is just… bad.

However, there are also features that the broadcasters produce each race weekend that do deserve a second watch. The purpose of this piece is to talk about those features for readers who may have missed them first time around. A VT takes a significant amount of time to put together. From getting the perfect shot, to getting the filming location correct for the feature and onto making sure the sound levels are all correct. It takes a lot to put a good feature together. It takes even more to put together something that goes above and beyond those levels.

BBC F1
Interviewer: Lee McKenzie
Personnel: Jos Verstappen; Max Verstappen
Dates: July 14th and 15th, 2015 (1, 2)
Link: BBC website

Max Verstappen has been one of the revelations of the 2015 Formula One season so far. The BBC piece on him felt like it could have been produced by the Top Gear team it was that impressive. The length of the VT allowed the subject, in this case both Max and Jos, to be explored in detail. For me, this was probably one of the best pieces that the BBC have produced in a long time. There was something special and enjoyable about it that is rarely replicated in F1 broadcasting. The piece was split into three distinctive sections. First, a look at Max’s racing career growing up. Second, a more personal look at Max’s life so far, with more of an input from Jos, and lastly Max racing around in go-karts. It was a fabulously produced piece, and one that clearly had a lot of planning – from the initial concept to final execution on screen.

An honourable mention also to the piece that Lee McKenzie did with Fernando Alonso, which is also worth a watch. Note that the Alonso piece is geo-blocked because it contains FOM footage, whereas the piece with the Verstappen’s is not geo-blocked as no FOM footage is present.

Sky Sports F1
Interviewer: Martin Brundle
Personnel: Stoffel Vandoorne
Link: Sky Sports website

Staying in the same vein as the BBC’s Verstappen piece, Sky Sports used the Belgian Grand Prix as an opportunity to interview Stoffel Vandoorne. As with the BBC piece, we were treated to beautiful shots this time in the August sunshine. There were some big talent in the other Sky pieces, notably the team did a feature with Idris Elba in the snow at Spa. The casual viewer may remember that Elba piece better than the Vandoorne segment from an enjoyment perspective, but the Vandoorne feature is more important in the long run.

On occasion, broadcasters focus too much on the past and present, but fail to look ahead to the future. Barring any mishaps, Stoffel Vandoorne will be a major name in Formula 1 in a few years time. It is important that viewers are introduced to future characters early in their career, so that viewers can build a relationship with them, and see the young man turn into a champion one day (hopefully, they say). The piece between Vandoorne and Brundle sets the tone for the future. It builds a storyboard, and that storyboard with Vandoorne has only just begun.

Whilst BBC and Sky produced some great television during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, you cannot overlook the fact that FOM’s Digital Media team are producing more content that will no doubt make the end of season DVD review. I won’t go into as much detail as above, but one piece I’d strongly recommend watching is a piece with Fernando Alonso talking about the challenges of Eau Rouge. Yes, a piece of that nature has been done multiple times over the years. But cleverly, I felt that FOM managed to put a different spin on things here. With some great graphics and archive footage, this stood out to me as one of the best Eau Rouge pieces that I’ve seen in a long time.

There are multiple websites this morning reporting quotes attributed to Bernie Ecclestone, made yesterday during the Belgium Grand Prix weekend, with relation to the current BBC and Sky deal that is due to expire at the end of 2018.

The quotes, which can be attributed to the Telegraph, AUTOSPORT or the Daily Mail, have Ecclestone saying: “I hope [BBC] continue. We’re not interested in the money, we’re interested in entertaining the public and doing a service. That’s what we’re there for. I think it would be good [to continue as we have at the moment]. It’s works at the moment, so there’s no reason why it should change. Sky have done a super job. They’ve lifted the level and lifted the BBC up.”

In relation to whether BT Sport are interested in Formula 1, Ecclestone said: “Let’s see. They’ve not been in to see me, but then even if they had I wouldn’t tell you.” The quotes were made in response to the news that RTL have extended their current deal in Germany to cover both 2016 and 2017. The price quoted by the Daily Mail for the RTL deal is 25 million per season (I’ve adjusted this sentence, Karol296 in the comments section notes that this is €25m, which is £18m, a bargain). The Daily Mail also say that it is £25 million per year for the current BBC deal, although I have in the past put that number at between £15 million and £20 million. You won’t find any information about the exact number in the public domain, but both RTL and BBC are definitely paying less than previously.

All three websites have also reported a factual inaccuracy. The current BBC and Sky deal does not expire as the end of 2017 as the three websites note. It expires at the 2018, as the BBC say themselves on their website. Where 2017 comes from, I have no idea, but I would have thought ‘end of 2018’ is a basic fact in the story. By bringing that date forward a year, you are changing the complexion of the story somewhat. I talked about what could happen in the future last month. If BBC want to stay in Formula 1, then they will enter negotiations with Sky and Formula One Management earlier than expected. A BBC spokesperson told this blog last month “We remain committed to our existing contracts for Formula 1.”

We’re not interested in the money, we’re interested in entertaining the public and doing a service. – Bernie Ecclestone (August 21st, 2015)

The majority of Ecclestone’s quote is your normal talk and nothing out of the ordinary. The only line, in my opinion, that is worth discussion is the one I’ve put in the block quote above. Coming from Ecclestone, it is difficult to look at a quote of that nature with a straight face. Every other sporting contract in the recent past has seen their value jump such as the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. The last F1 contract renewal which started the current arrangement was completed before BT Sport entered the fray. Fact is, if someone throws Ecclestone a bundle of money at the table, he is unlikely to reject it. That is just my opinion, after all Formula 1 is more a business than an entertainment franchise.

If money is no object either, then why is every race not live on free-to-air television? If RTL are paying £25 million to cover every race live, is there not precedence for saying that the BBC should be able to cover every race live by paying the exact same amount? If money is no object, then you may as well invite ITV or Channel 4 to the table and come up with a deal similar to the recent Six Nations deal that was announced. For a business built, and skewed, around money, that quote is surprising. What I think the quote does show with certainty that Ecclestone wants BBC to stay in the game. Maybe it shows that he is concerned that BBC could exit Formula 1 soon, but I’m not sure as no doubt that quote applies to RTL as well.

The earliest in my opinion that we will hear any news is the middle of next year, but that is only if BBC want to renegotiate. If they want to continue in the same vein as now, then I don’t expect to hear any news until 2017.