RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 22, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 22, 2018 I read that the F1 Circuit promoters had a get-together last week in London. They are fed up with the current level of fee payable to FOM. Mind you, some more than others, evidently. Monaco pays fat zero, while Abu Dhabi allegedly pays £54m. Silverstone has already invoked its break clause, Malaysia has waved goodbye, others are looking for reductions, not the annual 5% increase in the present contracts. With Liberty seeking to stop the special payments to teams like Ferrari, and future engine formulae proposals a very hot potato, this is all brewing up nicely. I also read that a proposal to simplify front wing complexity, which would make overtaking easier - there were only half as many overtakes in 2017 compared with 2016 - has been refused. Mind you, the teams wanted it as a better billboard for sponsors, actually. Sport? Your definition may vary from theirs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Oooo EErrrrr http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42772511 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 LOL, do you really believe that? Vettel would be playing 2nd violin after Lewis, something he's not prepared to do. It is, however, a great tactic to play mind-games with the Ferrari top-brass and of course Seb himself too And of course worry both Bottas and Riciardo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 LOL, do you really believe that? Vettel would be playing 2nd violin after Lewis, something he's not prepared to do. It is, however, a great tactic to play mind-games with the Ferrari top-brass and of course Seb himself too And try to get Lewis to do a CHEAPER DEAL to stay as No 1. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Maybe, but nothing is that certain. Had Alonso lucked into that Red Bull seat instead of Vettel, he might now be a six times F1 champion. Vettel? Who? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted January 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2018 And try to get Lewis to do a CHEAPER DEAL to stay as No 1. If there is one driver in F1 who justifies his wage in order to keep him, it's Lewis Hamilton. The only other one with real bargaining power at present is (IMHO) Max Verstappen but I wouldn't want them both driving for Mercedes. Having them scrapping, as they will (when somebody else builds a car that can compete on pace AND reliability) is going to be a pleasure. I just think putting them in the same team would make things "interesting" in the wrong way. Like two tom cats in a sack. John PS: I wonder who'll come out on top, Vettel in the 2019 Merc or Hamilton in the 2019 Ferrari? Or will Max beat them both? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Interesting? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42816877 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 4630 Posted January 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25, 2018 Interesting? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42816877 Certainly interesting. Perhaps also a little worrying? But it's only a continuation of the trend (and commercial approach) that's been prevalent in F1 for a few years, and most other major sports that command a large global audience. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Interesting? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42816877 Very. I recall Liberty's boss saying last year that the size of TV audiences was crucial, and that if he could have undone the Sky deal, he would. The report you have posted suggests that was not necessarily a sincere statement. Thank goodness that Sky have no foothold here in France. Most people here have Canal subscriptions, simply because state TV is absolutely awful, and Canal is included in most Orange (ex-France Telecom) phone/mobile/TV packages anyway. The pre-race, technical coverage by the Canal team is excellent, far superior to anything done in the UK. But the live race commentary is not terribly good - the commentators do not seem to understand what is going on half the time, as their English is not quite good enough. It is like having Murray Walker, but without the humour......so I watch with the sound turned not inconsiderably away from 11. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 I've said it before, and I'll say it again now, I ain't payin Sky or ANYONE just to watch a Race, I can live without it, YES I enjoy it, YES I look forward to the pre season testing, YES I look forward to each Race, but I will have to find something else to do on a Race weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobby Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) Quite, but it's interesting that Italy will be the first of the big 3 of Italy, Germany and UK to lose it... I think the telling comment of the article was the quote on the side part way down: The average audience in the last year of the BBC coverage in 2015 was 3.1m. Channel 4's was 1.9m last year. Sky's in 2017 was 652,000 That sort of drop will not be acceptable to sponsors, or, come to that, Ferrari and Mercedes... Watch this space... I recon we'll have a year or two of no live coverage and then a massive back-track... Edited January 26, 2018 by Hobby Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I would still like to think / hope that David Couldtard and his Company (Whisper Films) could turn the decision around in the next 12 Months. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 The future of these things is streaming anyway. You probably won't get it for free, but for example I have NFL gamepass, and for about £100/year I can watch as much NFL as you can imagine - the other option is sky where of get less coverage for much more money. F1 will eventually go that way and sell direct to the viewer. Or if they've any sense they will. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 26, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2018 I watch virtually no tv except F1. The thing doesn't get switched on at all otherwise - unless there is an election, a 9/11 or a Tsunami. I actually use a Sky box, watching UK channels, installed in 2005 for a one-off payment, and since then the only payment was when Deb once had to get a replacement data card for it, and that was bought used, on ebay! If that becomes necessary again I will probably not even know why it no longer works. But if it occurs after 2019, I shan't be trying to watch it anyway! What Sherry will do, since she occasionally watches a soap on catch-up when here, we will have to decide! But in the wider world of how F1 funds itself, as has been said, tv audiences have always loomed large in teams' pitches to sponsors. No tv, no sponsor. Simple. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 The future of these things is streaming anyway. You probably won't get it for free, but for example I have NFL gamepass, and for about £100/year I can watch as much NFL as you can imagine - the other option is sky where of get less coverage for much more money. F1 will eventually go that way and sell direct to the viewer. Or if they've any sense they will. Even at a £1 a program I probably wouldn't bother, they, the F1 Owners make enough and so in my humble opinion it's just greed. Now if they were to turn around and say; ALL TEAMS irrespective of size and Racing background get the same Start Money, Prize Money etc and it will be paid for by direct TV subscription, then, and only then, I might consider it, but again it would be dependant on cost and quality. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Mind blowing boring ,no there way to describe it. When its out of 2 or 3 drivers who will always win why would people bother watching. The audience figures some it up nicely other than a few circuits how many people actually go the races anymore as well. The whole thing needs huge shake up. sadly its all about £££££$$$$ and not a lot else. Same teams constantly at the front , reason?? because they have the money. No way would I pay to watch F1 , perhaps I was spoilt by being there in the 1970s and the 1980's gradually gone down hill ever since. The electric version is even worse , cars that only go half the distance , all the same vehicle . You might as well Unigate going wheel to wheel !! Thanks god for BTCC . 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Collier Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I don't get why people are so against paying to watch it. Basically what you are saying is 'I want to be entertained but I want to be entertained for free'. Why should all the teams invest so much money into the sport, the hosts in the tracks and the TV companies in broadcasting it just so you can sit at home in comfort and watch for nothing. Nothing in life is free, someone has to pay and I get the impression that's fine as long as it isn't me paying. Just remember that free to air isn't free anyway in the UK as you have to pay the license fee. If you're happy to pay that then you are contradicting yourself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 ...Just remember that free to air isn't free anyway in the UK as you have to pay the license fee... Quite. I am not paying a penny more than the state tax that is extorted from me to pay for footballers and TV personalities ever escalating wages. We'll settle this one after Brexit. You will still have to pay, but in a completely open market where you buy only what's of interest to you, just like for every other commodity. The technology is fully in place to enable this thanks to digital transmission, the whole output can be bought piecemeal, no need for packages. (When I am in the supermarket I don't have to buy all the other fruit on offer if I fancy a banana. Football will go broke in a week, hurrah! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Quite. I am not paying a penny more than the state tax that is extorted from me to pay for footballers and TV personalities ever escalating wages. We'll settle this one after Brexit. You will still have to pay, but in a completely open market where you buy only what's of interest to you, just like for every other commodity. The technology is fully in place to enable this thanks to digital transmission, the whole output can be bought piecemeal, no need for packages. (When I am in the supermarket I don't have to buy all the other fruit on offer if I fancy a banana. Football will go broke in a week, hurrah! I am more than bemused. Sky is already doing exactly what you are saying, at least for sport. And it is Sky that pays the lion's share of broadcasting charges to show football, and of course, F1. And audience figures have plummeted anyway. The model you promote simply does not work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobby Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 unless there is an election, a 9/11 or a Tsunami. That's when I turn off (or over)... Wall to wall "News" coverage... Yuk! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobby Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I am more than bemused. Sky is already doing exactly what you are saying, at least for sport. Unfortunately Virgin isn't... The sooner it does, the better... i had this discussion with one of their operators when i had my annual discussion on how to reduce their increases... I'd love to be able to get rid of all the crap channels... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I am more than bemused. Sky is already doing exactly what you are saying, at least for sport. And it is Sky that pays the lion's share of broadcasting charges to show football, and of course, F1. And audience figures have plummeted anyway. The model you promote simply does not work. No they are not. You have to pay in addition to the state extorted tax. Just one payment is all that is required. And let oceans of businesses go bust, as people buy only what they want, rather than be compelled to take a package entire. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Williams Launch date. http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/22223276/williams-announces-launch-date-2018-f1-car Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Jonboy Posted January 26, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26, 2018 For me it is not a question of not being prepared to pay to be entertained, it is a)paying anything towards a service controlled by the Murdocks. b) the total cost of even just race day access on now tv (cheapest way I can find to get skyf1 access) is more than I am prepared to pay to sit at home. At £3.50 Per race weekend I would buy in to a different service. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 For me it is not a question of not being prepared to pay to be entertained, it is a)paying anything towards a service controlled by the Murdocks. b) the total cost of even just race day access on now tv (cheapest way I can find to get skyf1 access) is more than I am prepared to pay to sit at home. At £3.50 Per race weekend I would buy in to a different service. Might not be, quite soon. When Disney own it all, does that make a difference? I suppose we could watch an animated version..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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