Sky has bought up exclusive rights to show Formula One racing from 2019 and, for the first time almost all F1 Grand Prix will only be available to Sky Sports subscribers. The current Channel 4 programmes showing ten races a year will be no more after the 2018 season.
The new Sky deal, which runs until 2024, will see Sky broadcast only the British Grand Prix on a free-to-air Sky channel available on services such as Virgin or YouView. There will also be at least two other races on the new Sky Sports Mix channel, which will only be available to Sky subscribers even if they do not take any of its sports channels.
Expect yet another painful Sky Sports price hike as we near 2019. It’s all getting very, very expensive and you have to ask yourself how the Sky/BT sports fisticuffs is in anyway benefiting customers. Nice one, OFCOM.
3 comments:
Personally this is good news because the Sky coverage is very good despite me not being their biggest fan generally. It's also good because it will cut F1's audience and force the sport to make changes to get people back.
But really, if you want to watch good racing, Forumla-e is far better. Hopefully it'll push more casual racing fans in that direction.
It’s all getting very, very expensive and you have to ask yourself how the Sky/BT sports fisticuffs is in anyway benefiting customers." I completely agree. I loathe formula one but I watch a lot of football, rugby and cricket. The so called competition is pushing up prices and making viewers take out a number of subscriptions or services to see complete coverage. The great myth that those in a market like competition is just that, a myth. Firms tend to monopoly. Naturally. Then they can become price makers. Exclusivity is what they crave.
There is one way that I'd be happy to see at least an oligopoly. Free to air broadcast paid for through the licence fee and advertising (if you must). But I'm an antediluvian who believes that comprehensive contributory insurance systems for services like health and comprehensive contributory systems like the licence fee are both more economically efficient and take us away from the dangerously dominant ideology that everything can be reduced to 'serving' customers and consumers. Of course, the cost base for elite sport has now been pushed through the roof by mainlining 20 years worth of over inflated TV income. So absent another flood we just have to live with being exploited in the name of supposed competition.
Guess i'll be resorting to illegal streams!
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