Well done Bernie, you have shown that you don't give a toss about most of the F1 fans.
I for one will not be putting any of my hard earned money into Murdoch's pocket.
Come on Martin Brundle tell Sky to stuff it. This cannot be good for the sport or the sponsors.
Alan Clayton - 12 years ago
Mad Babs, Ecclestone and Murdoch have given the finger (not Vettel style) to all F1 fans in the UK. Boycott Sky and any sponsor that supports this travesty, I suggest you switch your energy drink, mobile package and bank (Santander) for starters, sadly I'm not rich enough to be able to refuse to own a Ferrari.
Tijmen - 12 years ago
I am sorry Bernie I can't afford an extra £20 a month for 9 months of racing so killed of the only sport I enjoyed. Way to go matey
Charles Exford - 13 years ago
If £ccle$tone thinks BRITISH F1 fans are going to put cash in Murdoch's pocket after the recent revelations about phone hacking, blagging and general criminality within NI, then he must be absolutely barking. And if this is only going to save the BBC about four million quid, then how about making some of the highly-paid "talent" take a salary cut. You know, just like many of us in the real world have had to...
hal - 13 years ago
SHAME ON BERNIE. The teams should realize that their value will diminish as the audience shrinks and their sponsors will want to pay less. stick to the free to air model
I've been watching F1 since the mid 80's. The BBC's coverage has been very good but I can't see this new 'deal' as a good thing. It's bad and anyone who tries to describe it as anythingelse is either an idiot or has something to gain.
I certainly won't be parting with any of my hard earned cash to watch F1, only seeing half the races live holds no attraction either so I guess this will be my last year as a fan of F1.
Goodbye F1, its been good but I hear the BTCC calling on ITV4. (Excellent racing, available to watch for free if I agree to endure a few commercial breaks).
Bernie, give up mate, you've lost the plot!
A Lamb - 13 years ago
I have watched F1 qualifying and races without missing a session all my life (I am now 40). This is a disgrace and is clearly all about money. I do have sky , and also sky sports ,but this is a sport for the people. We will be bullied into buying this service from sky or miss out as so many people will. Until the fans stick together and boycott sky and other associated services this will continue. This is sad day for the F1 fan and downward spiral fornthe BBC . Eventually we will have let everything go in the country. Just like the utilities we are now paying so much for our energy needs and itbmoney leavingbthe uk to foreign owned companies.
A sad sad day !,
Lynda Polson - 13 years ago
I love F1, have a membership with McLaren, and have even applied for office jobs in the past with Cosworth and Mercedes just to get closer to my favourite sport. I am so upset by this announcement I feel I may have to stop following the sport as well.
I will not pay any money to SKY, I pay already via TV licence and now the 'powers that be' want more money out of us. This is just absolute greed by Bernie E and the Murdochs.
The sad thing I feel that our comments will go unheard and we will not change anything because we aint rich so we dont matter.
Please tell me that someone will make a stand for us Fans.
Ash - 13 years ago
I hope Martin leaves the BBC it's a disgrace they way he has been treated surly he should have been told about this a long time ago. Plus I'm not watching f1 with adverts again it was bad enough when itv cut off the end of a race to go to a break. Why don't the BBC scrap ceceebies and BBC 3 and the Asian network they are all rubbish and use up my licence fee. Also bet the BBC have the cash to put on all the oylimpics as with that paid for by the northeners so the London lot get more top class stadia at our expense
Rocky - 13 years ago
Half the races is worse than no races, Slater is obviously a typical
middle class bbc exec and would much rather keep proper events like Wimbeldon. Bloody disgrace, 20 years as an F1 fan, not next year though.
Col - 13 years ago
Sports provide us with the best entertainment that TV has to offer. It's live and its real, featuring the best and most ardent teams and individuals in the world. It should receive the best and most widespread coverage possible. The BBC have shown us a disdain for this that I find hard to understand.
I hardly watch anything else that they air, apart from the News (also live, mostly) and the odd drama.
Until today I've never questioned the cost of my TV license, knowing that it guaranteed me the best in television programming.
As for Sky, well simply put, I will not support this corporation in any way and with the possibility of having a different team of commentators every other race, I can't see how this provides any continuity. There's no point in watching half a season's racing either.
HJ - 13 years ago
Steve T said it perfectly:
"I have never paid for anything that gives a penny to Murdoch and never will. The recent News International revelations show exactly how evil that man and his "empire" are, and I'm astonished that the BBC think that the British public will accept this cynical move."
I am already unable to watch most cricket, since Sky snaffled that. I am dismayed that F1 is prepared to do this to its fans. Shame on the BBC also, for giving up the rights it already had until 2013. If BBC needs to save money, stop buying so much rubbish TV which is interchangeable with similar stuff on other channels. Formula 1 is something which the BBC does superbly, and should be regarded as something unique which should be retained.
Steve T - 13 years ago
I have never paid for anything that gives a penny to Murdoch and never will. The recent News International revelations show exactly how evil that man and his "empire" are, and I'm astonished that the BBC think that the British public will accept this cynical move.
As others have said, watching half a GP season is close to pointless, so I guess this is the end of F1 for me after 25 years of watching almost every race.
gary - 13 years ago
like many of you, i will not be getting sky, just to watch F1 and if you can't watch the whole season, what's the point in watching at all.
bernie it's not always about pound notes, some times it's about the passion
David T - 13 years ago
@Mike Paterson - that would be a fan-friendly solution wouldn't it :)
I think it's about time Sky was more willing to put the customer in control of what they buy. The choice of 'packs' don't reflect real people's needs. Most people would probably want some programming from all packs, but for that you'd have to buy all of them. In reality, if change is going to happen, it is the advertisers that will make it happen. NewsCorp got a clear message from some big spending Blue Chip advertisers that they wouldn't continue to be associated with NoTW and that pushed it over the edge. BSkyB will have been making some bold predictions of audience numbers for their F coverage, both to Bernie and the advertisers. If they don't meet those numbers, then we might see Sky taking a more modular approach to their subscription packages. Otherwise, we'll still be paying for European Tractor Pulling, International Cake Icing Championship and Extreme Chess just so we can continue watching F1.
DT
matt freeman - 13 years ago
I cannot justify £600 a year for F1 on sky it really is disgraceful that the BBC can justify so much throw away TV and yet go out of there way to get out of an f1 contract with record braking success why not axe BBC 3 & 4 and concentrate on only making shows that are worthwhile!!
Peter - 13 years ago
F1 is over for me. I'll not watch it on Sky and only watching half a season, or one race a month, is no way to enjoy the sport. After 30 years as a fan, I'm gutted. Shame on you Ecclestone.
Michael Gent - 13 years ago
Also how an the sponsors going to0 feel that a lot less people are going to see thier names ?
F1 has really been coming back in the last few years and its popularity growing a lot this is just going to destory it I have just text this to a load of friends and everyone has responded the same thing maybe worded slightly differently.
No more F1 for me :( whats the point in only getting to see half the races.
Michael Gent - 13 years ago
What a total joke this is. There is NO WAY I am paying a monthly subscription for sky sports its just not worth it. I am sure there will be a site somewhere streaming the coverage for free.
I got rid of sky about 2 years ago as all it is repeats anyway and a total waste of money so I would have to pay for sky plus sky sports no way.
I would happily pay the BBC £1 for every race they broadcast (Which is what it costs them per viewer).
F1 is my favoite sport its the only thing I make an effort to be infront of the TV to watch I watch all sessions every week sometimes the race multiple times now I cant.
Looks like i will have to find another motor sport to watch then. Come one we pay the TV license atleast give us something which makes it worth while paying over £100 a year for BBC F1 and top gear are the only programs I watch on BBC otherwise I am not interested.
This is discusting I am so fumeing right now
BBC shou;ld support F1 as we have 2 british world campions come on how many supports can be claim that in ?
Plus a lot of the teams are based here and it I would say England is almost the home of F1
I am discusted with the BBC on this
Arnt they getting rid of it so they can keep bbc 4 what is bbc 4 I have never heard of it ?
how much money do they spend on thier bloated web site ? They are a TV company for ****S sake
Mike Paterson - 13 years ago
Talk on forums has already turned to watching live streams on the internet - something that our American F1 fan friends have to do already to get their fix.
Sky will either make these events PPV, or as a prt of the Sky Sports package, I wonder which.
I do not watch football of Golf so have had no need to pay for sky sports and would certainly not want to pay the £15 per month or so upgrade to it, but maybe if they put together a special motorsports package for say £5 per month to include Indy, Nascar, and sportscars then it might be well worth it.
James Harris - 13 years ago
There cannot be a more greedy man in this world than Ecclestone. Shame on the man!
Steve Wilkinson - 13 years ago
I've been an avid follower of F1 for over 30 years but I will not buy Sky Sports to watch all the season. It would be bad enough if it was on a standard Sky channel as part of the basic package but it's not.
If I can only watch half the season live (on free to view), I'm not sure that I will watch any races in the future as the whole point of racing is watching it live.
Mike Alexander - 13 years ago
I think this is ultimately a bad thing for F1. I am *not* going to pay to watch races on Sky and not being able to watch half of the races live on the BBC will really have a detrimental impact on my interest in the sport. I'm sure I'm going to be among a very large group of fans that feel the same way.
I understand why Bernie has done this: for the money and not in the broader interests of the sport.
A very sad day indeed.
Mike Alexander - 13 years ago
I think this is ultimately a bad thing for F1. I am *not* going to pay to watch races on Sky and not being able to watch half of the races live on the BBC will really have a detrimental impact on my interest in the sport. I'm sure I'm going to be among a very late group of fans that feel the same way.
I understand why Bernie has done this: for the money and not in the broader interests of the sport.
A very sad day indeed.
Sharon Smith - 13 years ago
UK F1 fans already pay to view it's called a TV Licence
Well done Bernie, you have shown that you don't give a toss about most of the F1 fans.
I for one will not be putting any of my hard earned money into Murdoch's pocket.
Come on Martin Brundle tell Sky to stuff it. This cannot be good for the sport or the sponsors.
Mad Babs, Ecclestone and Murdoch have given the finger (not Vettel style) to all F1 fans in the UK. Boycott Sky and any sponsor that supports this travesty, I suggest you switch your energy drink, mobile package and bank (Santander) for starters, sadly I'm not rich enough to be able to refuse to own a Ferrari.
I am sorry Bernie I can't afford an extra £20 a month for 9 months of racing so killed of the only sport I enjoyed. Way to go matey
If £ccle$tone thinks BRITISH F1 fans are going to put cash in Murdoch's pocket after the recent revelations about phone hacking, blagging and general criminality within NI, then he must be absolutely barking. And if this is only going to save the BBC about four million quid, then how about making some of the highly-paid "talent" take a salary cut. You know, just like many of us in the real world have had to...
SHAME ON BERNIE. The teams should realize that their value will diminish as the audience shrinks and their sponsors will want to pay less. stick to the free to air model
I've been watching F1 since the mid 80's. The BBC's coverage has been very good but I can't see this new 'deal' as a good thing. It's bad and anyone who tries to describe it as anythingelse is either an idiot or has something to gain.
I certainly won't be parting with any of my hard earned cash to watch F1, only seeing half the races live holds no attraction either so I guess this will be my last year as a fan of F1.
Goodbye F1, its been good but I hear the BTCC calling on ITV4. (Excellent racing, available to watch for free if I agree to endure a few commercial breaks).
Bernie, give up mate, you've lost the plot!
I have watched F1 qualifying and races without missing a session all my life (I am now 40). This is a disgrace and is clearly all about money. I do have sky , and also sky sports ,but this is a sport for the people. We will be bullied into buying this service from sky or miss out as so many people will. Until the fans stick together and boycott sky and other associated services this will continue. This is sad day for the F1 fan and downward spiral fornthe BBC . Eventually we will have let everything go in the country. Just like the utilities we are now paying so much for our energy needs and itbmoney leavingbthe uk to foreign owned companies.
A sad sad day !,
I love F1, have a membership with McLaren, and have even applied for office jobs in the past with Cosworth and Mercedes just to get closer to my favourite sport. I am so upset by this announcement I feel I may have to stop following the sport as well.
I will not pay any money to SKY, I pay already via TV licence and now the 'powers that be' want more money out of us. This is just absolute greed by Bernie E and the Murdochs.
The sad thing I feel that our comments will go unheard and we will not change anything because we aint rich so we dont matter.
Please tell me that someone will make a stand for us Fans.
I hope Martin leaves the BBC it's a disgrace they way he has been treated surly he should have been told about this a long time ago. Plus I'm not watching f1 with adverts again it was bad enough when itv cut off the end of a race to go to a break. Why don't the BBC scrap ceceebies and BBC 3 and the Asian network they are all rubbish and use up my licence fee. Also bet the BBC have the cash to put on all the oylimpics as with that paid for by the northeners so the London lot get more top class stadia at our expense
Half the races is worse than no races, Slater is obviously a typical
middle class bbc exec and would much rather keep proper events like Wimbeldon. Bloody disgrace, 20 years as an F1 fan, not next year though.
Sports provide us with the best entertainment that TV has to offer. It's live and its real, featuring the best and most ardent teams and individuals in the world. It should receive the best and most widespread coverage possible. The BBC have shown us a disdain for this that I find hard to understand.
I hardly watch anything else that they air, apart from the News (also live, mostly) and the odd drama.
Until today I've never questioned the cost of my TV license, knowing that it guaranteed me the best in television programming.
As for Sky, well simply put, I will not support this corporation in any way and with the possibility of having a different team of commentators every other race, I can't see how this provides any continuity. There's no point in watching half a season's racing either.
Steve T said it perfectly:
"I have never paid for anything that gives a penny to Murdoch and never will. The recent News International revelations show exactly how evil that man and his "empire" are, and I'm astonished that the BBC think that the British public will accept this cynical move."
I am already unable to watch most cricket, since Sky snaffled that. I am dismayed that F1 is prepared to do this to its fans. Shame on the BBC also, for giving up the rights it already had until 2013. If BBC needs to save money, stop buying so much rubbish TV which is interchangeable with similar stuff on other channels. Formula 1 is something which the BBC does superbly, and should be regarded as something unique which should be retained.
I have never paid for anything that gives a penny to Murdoch and never will. The recent News International revelations show exactly how evil that man and his "empire" are, and I'm astonished that the BBC think that the British public will accept this cynical move.
As others have said, watching half a GP season is close to pointless, so I guess this is the end of F1 for me after 25 years of watching almost every race.
like many of you, i will not be getting sky, just to watch F1 and if you can't watch the whole season, what's the point in watching at all.
bernie it's not always about pound notes, some times it's about the passion
@Mike Paterson - that would be a fan-friendly solution wouldn't it :)
I think it's about time Sky was more willing to put the customer in control of what they buy. The choice of 'packs' don't reflect real people's needs. Most people would probably want some programming from all packs, but for that you'd have to buy all of them. In reality, if change is going to happen, it is the advertisers that will make it happen. NewsCorp got a clear message from some big spending Blue Chip advertisers that they wouldn't continue to be associated with NoTW and that pushed it over the edge. BSkyB will have been making some bold predictions of audience numbers for their F coverage, both to Bernie and the advertisers. If they don't meet those numbers, then we might see Sky taking a more modular approach to their subscription packages. Otherwise, we'll still be paying for European Tractor Pulling, International Cake Icing Championship and Extreme Chess just so we can continue watching F1.
DT
I cannot justify £600 a year for F1 on sky it really is disgraceful that the BBC can justify so much throw away TV and yet go out of there way to get out of an f1 contract with record braking success why not axe BBC 3 & 4 and concentrate on only making shows that are worthwhile!!
F1 is over for me. I'll not watch it on Sky and only watching half a season, or one race a month, is no way to enjoy the sport. After 30 years as a fan, I'm gutted. Shame on you Ecclestone.
Also how an the sponsors going to0 feel that a lot less people are going to see thier names ?
F1 has really been coming back in the last few years and its popularity growing a lot this is just going to destory it I have just text this to a load of friends and everyone has responded the same thing maybe worded slightly differently.
No more F1 for me :( whats the point in only getting to see half the races.
What a total joke this is. There is NO WAY I am paying a monthly subscription for sky sports its just not worth it. I am sure there will be a site somewhere streaming the coverage for free.
I got rid of sky about 2 years ago as all it is repeats anyway and a total waste of money so I would have to pay for sky plus sky sports no way.
I would happily pay the BBC £1 for every race they broadcast (Which is what it costs them per viewer).
F1 is my favoite sport its the only thing I make an effort to be infront of the TV to watch I watch all sessions every week sometimes the race multiple times now I cant.
Looks like i will have to find another motor sport to watch then. Come one we pay the TV license atleast give us something which makes it worth while paying over £100 a year for BBC F1 and top gear are the only programs I watch on BBC otherwise I am not interested.
This is discusting I am so fumeing right now
BBC shou;ld support F1 as we have 2 british world campions come on how many supports can be claim that in ?
Plus a lot of the teams are based here and it I would say England is almost the home of F1
I am discusted with the BBC on this
Arnt they getting rid of it so they can keep bbc 4 what is bbc 4 I have never heard of it ?
how much money do they spend on thier bloated web site ? They are a TV company for ****S sake
Talk on forums has already turned to watching live streams on the internet - something that our American F1 fan friends have to do already to get their fix.
Sky will either make these events PPV, or as a prt of the Sky Sports package, I wonder which.
I do not watch football of Golf so have had no need to pay for sky sports and would certainly not want to pay the £15 per month or so upgrade to it, but maybe if they put together a special motorsports package for say £5 per month to include Indy, Nascar, and sportscars then it might be well worth it.
There cannot be a more greedy man in this world than Ecclestone. Shame on the man!
I've been an avid follower of F1 for over 30 years but I will not buy Sky Sports to watch all the season. It would be bad enough if it was on a standard Sky channel as part of the basic package but it's not.
If I can only watch half the season live (on free to view), I'm not sure that I will watch any races in the future as the whole point of racing is watching it live.
I think this is ultimately a bad thing for F1. I am *not* going to pay to watch races on Sky and not being able to watch half of the races live on the BBC will really have a detrimental impact on my interest in the sport. I'm sure I'm going to be among a very large group of fans that feel the same way.
I understand why Bernie has done this: for the money and not in the broader interests of the sport.
A very sad day indeed.
I think this is ultimately a bad thing for F1. I am *not* going to pay to watch races on Sky and not being able to watch half of the races live on the BBC will really have a detrimental impact on my interest in the sport. I'm sure I'm going to be among a very late group of fans that feel the same way.
I understand why Bernie has done this: for the money and not in the broader interests of the sport.
A very sad day indeed.
UK F1 fans already pay to view it's called a TV Licence