BBC viewers

[IceG]

Ok thanks. I already have the Sky HD package for films.

I think the Sky coverage will be good; more in depth and less-dumbed down like everything on the BBC seems to be today and we will be able to record practice (in HD!) unlike the BBC's red button service. Sky's decision to make it available to existing premium subscribers at no additional cost (some-times called "free") was great.

I already had RTL as a back-up (from the awful ITV advert-infested days) but that isn't going to be free forever and the Germans have used a very specific access system (HD+) for their non-PBS HD channels

[Klon]

I already had RTL as a back-up (from the awful ITV advert-infested days) but that isn't going to be free forever and the Germans have used a very specific access system (HD+) for their non-PBS HD channels

Well, odds are it stays free for quite a while. RTL has the F1 rights up to 2015 and odds are they will be sticking to it, since it's one of their best running programs, with e.g. the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix drawing almost twice as much viewers as their most successful prime time shows. Furthermore Sky Deutschland is most likely not in financial shape to pay Bernie so much that he will consider cancelling or not extending this contract.

So, if you can fetch it, go for the RTL coverage. Just don't turn in before the qualifying/race actually starts...

[mario]

Are you sure you have to subscribe to the sports channels to get F1? I was under the impression it came with the basic subscription.

Sky Sports F1 comes as a package deal only. You either need to sub the other Sky Sports channels or the Sky HD package, both of which are bloody expensive, as detailed above.

And don't forget to add in any instillation costs involved with getting the satellite dish and set-top box...

Exactly why I shall listen to BBC Radio and rely on TV highlights, just to prove to them that there is still a strong market for F1 on their networks. If their ratings plummet, who's to say that they won't try to get rid of F1 altogether?

They'll probably try to get rid of F1 in the longer term anyway - after all, they made the current deal with Sky despite the fact that the ratings for F1 had been steadily rising, and I believe that they continued rising after the deal was announced. If the current UK government continues squeezing the finances of the BBC through freezing the licence fee it'll become increasingly tempting to cut F1 altogether, especially if the 2012 Olympics coverage drains their coffers further.

Ok thanks. I already have the Sky HD package for films.

I think the Sky coverage will be good; more in depth and less-dumbed down like everything on the BBC seems to be today and we will be able to record practice (in HD!) unlike the BBC's red button service. Sky's decision to make it available to existing premium subscribers at no additional cost (some-times called "free") was great.

I already had RTL as a back-up (from the awful ITV advert-infested days) but that isn't going to be free forever and the Germans have used a very specific access system (HD+) for their non-PBS HD channels

I agree that Sky does seem to be aiming for a more "in depth" experience - we've already seen Kravitz giving some feedback from the test sessions for a start, and Brundle did point out that one reason he chose to switch was greater flexibility on technical features (such as being given access and the option to give Di Resta instructions via Force India's team radio feed during their shakedown runs in Silverstone).
Given that Sky are indirectly competing with the BBC for their coverage (since there is the 5 Live service and their coverage of half the races), plus the considerable expense involved in a Sky subscription, their strategy seems to focus around providing a premium service to beat the BBC for viewers. Depending on how the BBC manages their new line up, plus how well Sky can manage the coverage of the opening races, it could well pay off if alienated BBC viewers do not feel that they are getting a good quality broadcast service.

[Barbazza]

One thing I'm really not looking forward to is the inevitable endless blah during at least the first race of the season from the BBC about how all this is a 'great deal'. I'm not quite sure that they've grasped how pissed off we all are at being patronised about that endlessly already.

I'm not sure the BBC's coverage will be that great - the 2 best people, Brundle and Kravitz, have gone. Jake Humphrey is blandness personified, like all BBC Sport presenters have to be nowadays (just look at that idiot on Football Focus for proof), Coulthard is OK but nothing special, and Eddie Jordan should have been long gone by now. I like Ben Edwards but on his own he can't make it brilliant.

If Sky run the F1 channel for free one weekend - and they do have free Sky Sports weekends once a year usually - then it will be a fantastic opportunity for them to grab viewers (including this one)
I'm certain they will do this if it's not against the terms of their contract. Logically you would expect it to be one that the BBC are also covering and one of the dull to middling tracks - plenty of those to choose from!

[Paul Hayes]

Well, I've gone and done it. I know it's stupid. But I had to do it. I have signed up to get Sky Sports F1 through Virgin Media. Idiot.

[Horns]

Are you joining Sky, watching on some free foreign Sat channel, stream it online from some dubious source or something else?

None of the above. I had Sky already, I'll just watch it on that.

[dinizintheoven]

The taste of victory is very similar to the taste of the mutton chops I rewarded myself with as a celebratory dinner.

Here is my satellite dish.



Next door's Sky dish is slightly higher, but I looked one house further down and saw a 60 cm dish like mine, on a two-metre pole at the end of the garden, barely clearing the fence, and surely the houses opposite were blocking the view... weren't they? Not a bit of it, I saw their satellite picture and it was fine, mostly. With a bit of help from a friend, a lot of help from dishpointer.com (which showed the exact horizontal angle to point the dish, on a detailed map, as well as the vertical angle and the LNB skew angle) and possibly a little bit of luck, I managed to get 71% signal quality on the Astra 1 satellite - which, given that it's not pointing directly at the UK, is good enough. The box found 855 channels. I only needed one.



No, I do not want to watch RTL Bibelclip any more than I want to watch a snuff film, but the fact remains, that is RTL, with a clear picture, no digital breakups, on my TV. There, in pictures and in the brief report I've just written, is proof that the RTL/Five Live combination can be done with a £40 satellite kit from B&Q. I'll need some better cable, admittedly, as that supplied with the kit had a horrible tendency to split along the seam of the insulation, I needed a couple of spare F plugs, and some chunkier anchor bolts to fix the mast to the wall certainly came in as an excellent addition to the setup. I'm going to take the satellite finder back for a refund, as it was more of a hindrance than a help, and if I ever need to re-align the dish, I'm better off with dishpointer.com's map and the signal quality reading on the TV screen. Hence, my total outgoings for a system that should allow me to watch the Sky-based races on RTL for four F1 seasons is under £60. And that can be neatly summed up this way.

GO HOME, RUPERT MURDOCH!
GO HOME!
DO NOT PASS GO!
DO NOT COLLECT 200 MILLION BILLION AUSSIE DOLLARS!

As I've said before, I already have a digital radio; it cost me a hundred notes (and is still going for that price four years later), but then it is designed like a Marshall amplifier. Marvellous. Obviously, there's no need to spend so much; this should do the trick, at a mere £20, and there might even be one for less at somewhere like Aldi.

[Klon]

Yes! YES! - now everyone will watch German TV, starting of F1 and spreading more and more while watching with listening to commentary with amplifiers bought Aldi, a German company. This is how we will win that war after 70 long years.

[JeremyMcClean]

Dinizintheoven, you are a hero. No idea what you just did but you got Sky for 1/16th of the price for a season. Wish I could do that to get Speed channel in n.a. ... but nobody in my neighborhood owns a satellite (within visible distance anyways...)

[DanielPT]

You should not do the victory dance just yet. In my cable provider I once had RTL and when F1 switched from open signal to pay-per-view channel people moved on to RTL. For a few races at least because after this the signal was codified only for the race. Lots of complaints after the cable provider said that it was not their fault because since RTL did not had the rights to broadcast the race outside Germany, their signal was scrambled only for the race (afterwards the same thing happened for football matches and soon the channel was dropped by the cable provider (TF1 suffered the same fate)) which happened just in their satellite feed. I sure hope that doesn't happen with you...

[Klon]

You should not do the victory dance just yet. In my cable provider I once had RTL and when F1 switched from open signal to pay-per-view channel people moved on to RTL. For a few races at least because after this the signal was codified only for the race. Lots of complaints after the cable provider said that it was their fault because since RTL did not had the rights to broadcast the race outside Germany, their signal was scrambled for the race only (afterwards the same thing happened for football matches and soon the channel was dropped by the cable provider (TF1 suffered the same fate)) regarding only their satellite feed. I sure hope that doesn't happen with you...

Well, they are not allowed to do that anymore given new EU regulations - which were about football matches, but could easily be extended to racing. It's unlikely anyone here has the financial ability to sue Sky for it, but if so they would score a decisive (and easy) win.

[dinizintheoven]

Yes! YES! - now everyone will watch German TV, starting of F1 and spreading more and more while watching with listening to commentary with amplifiers bought Aldi, a German company. This is how we will win that war after 70 long years.

Don't be so sure. I have a hi-fi amplifier made by Cambridge Audio (right here at home), and a midi system kicking about doing nothing. *coughaiwajananaxispowersetccough* Besides, surely an Aldi amplifier will be made in China...

Also, go on like that and there'll be a surge of people hopping over the channel to buy a French satellite receiver at that massive Carrefour in Calais, et voilà, Formule Un avec TF1 et pas avec les Allemands. Plus, a couple of cases of Cabernet Sauvignon won't go amiss while we're there. That's a proper hassle, though.

Dinizintheoven, you are a hero. No idea what you just did but you got Sky for 1/16th of the price for a season. Wish I could do that to get Speed channel in n.a. ... but nobody in my neighborhood owns a satellite (within visible distance anyways...)

I had very little idea what I was doing at the start - even less idea than Murray had about Jean-Denis Délétraz - and I probably wouldn't have investigated if Bob (on the previous page) hadn't implied he was trying to get RTL through Virgin Media. At that point I thought "hang on, what...?", I went on the internet and soon found a ton of guides on how to do what a lot of people intended to do, explained (eventually) in terms so simple a chimpanzee could do it. Even so, I suspect a lot of people might have given up along the way; pointing the dish the right way is very finnicky and I was forewarned how frustrating it might be. A bit of trial and error, though, and it worked, so the world must know.

I should point out I can't actually pick up Sky for free, and of the 855 channels my box has found, probably 500-600 of them are scrambled. RTL, RTL2 and SuperRTL are not, whether they come from Germany or Austria, and that is most likely as much as I'll ever need.

I am aware that the setup I'm using is far from perfect. On one hand, even if RTL have long advert breaks, the Five Live commentary will just keep on going regardless. However, if RTL show a replay, what the Five Live commentators are saying will not explain what's going on. It may turn out that this method is far from satisfactory, we will see - one thing I do know is that I am not in a viable position to be shelling out £22.50 a month for Sky Sports, and even taking into account the fact that I'll not see the first race live anyway, were I to get Sky Sports from the Malaysian GP onwards, I've got to keep the package for seven months to get me up to the race in Austin, and that works out at £157.50. The £40 satellite system picking up RTL will still be there next season, and afterwards... I suppose you could say that I can get Sky's F1 races for a quarter of what it would have cost me this season, or one sixteenth if I stick with RTL/Five Live until the end of the 2015 season, provided RTL don't welch on their free-to-air agreement the way the BBC did. I can only hope they don't

What I may do is, when we get to the Malaysian Grand Prix, report on my first "proper" RTL/Five Live experience.

You should not do the victory dance just yet. In my cable provider I once had RTL and when F1 switched from open signal to pay-per-view channel people moved on to RTL. For a few races at least because after this the signal was codified only for the race. Lots of complaints after the cable provider said that it was their fault because since RTL did not had the rights to broadcast the race outside Germany, their signal was scrambled for the race only (afterwards the same thing happened for football matches and soon the channel was dropped by the cable provider (TF1 suffered the same fate)) regarding only their satellite feed. I sure hope that doesn't happen with you...

There may already be a get-out clause here. Phoenix, or others in Spain, who's showing F1 there? I can pick up a lot of Spanish channels, and I wonder if there's another hidden option that I haven't investigated yet.

Other than what Klon says about the EU regulations, cable would be a lot easier to control; maybe RTL was only scrambled for you in Portugal (and other countries that aren't Germany) and was unscrambled within the German borders. Satellites would have to scramble the whole lot, even for its target market, and if there are going to be satellite kits sold without any unscrambling device (like I've got), that'd be shooting themselves in the face.

I suppose what I could do is set up my video to record the RTL broadcast while I'm in Wales, and see if there's something for me to watch when I get back. The agenda I will have if there isn't will be terrifying.

[DanielPT]

Yes! YES! - now everyone will watch German TV, starting of F1 and spreading more and more while watching with listening to commentary with amplifiers bought Aldi, a German company. This is how we will win that war after 70 long years.

If that is the way to go then I suggest for German TV to mass produce those documentaries about the every-day life of a mountain isolated old guy in the winter. Or how to breed pigs which is much interesting. Anyway, when the rest of the world is asleep you can quietly take over...

If not even the USA TV show industry, which is more entertainment and less facts oriented, can make a day in a lumberjack life exciting, then imagine that made by Germans.

[dinizintheoven]

If not even the USA TV show industry, which is more entertainment and less facts oriented, can make a day in a lumberjack life exciting...

...wait, that's not difficult, though, is it? Dress the lumberlacks in drag and have them pressing wild flowers.

[DanielPT]

If not even the USA TV show industry, which is more entertainment and less facts oriented, can make a day in a lumberjack life exciting...

...wait, that's not difficult, though, is it? Dress the lumberlacks in drag and have them pressing wild flowers.

Following the latest trend in American TV I would bet on putting the 12 more awesome lumberjacks inside a forest for a couple of months, throw in 12 lumberjanes for good measure, make up some challenges and invite a former TV star of the 80s/90s to be on the jury along with other two very American and much more experienced lumberjacks. Don't forget of filming the scenes with plenty of moving camera shots and putting that strong, typical American voice that usually appears on these type of shows saying: "Jack and Jane lost themselves in the woods and cannot contact the rest of the crew. Jane is almost reaching boiling point and Jack looks feverish. Can they find the others? Or this will be the end of their run? Next on The Lumberers!"

[Phoenix]

Phoenix, or others in Spain, who's showing F1 there? I can pick up a lot of Spanish channels, and I wonder if there's another hidden option that I haven't investigated yet.

Try looking up for Antena 3, which will be showing the races in Spain for the first time this year.

[dinizintheoven]

Marvellous. I'll look for Antena 3, even though I'll have 849 remaining channels to look through. Spanish channels do look to be at the start of the list, though.

Anyone Polish on this forum? I can pick up a couple of Polish channels. Or has Polish interest in F1 evaporated seeing as it looks like Robert Kubica might not be back for a while, if at all?

[Shizuka]

Yes! YES! - now everyone will watch German TV, starting of F1 and spreading more and more while watching with listening to commentary with amplifiers bought Aldi, a German company. This is how we will win that war after 70 long years.

Does RTL still air that beer commercial with the lake before quali and race?
I remember seeing that even three or four years ago, when the stupid Hungarian RTL didn't bother to show the North+South-American qualis to show live...

[East Londoner]

Anyone Polish on this forum? I can pick up a couple of Polish channels. Or has Polish interest in F1 evaporated seeing as it looks like Robert Kubica might not be back for a while, if at all?

The only active Polish members that I know of are Pointrox and TheLukas.

[madmark1974]

The 'pedia has a page listing a few of them (nothing Spanish or Polish on there), though I can't verify its accuracy :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_broadcasters

[CoopsII]

Anyone Polish on this forum?

Mr Sheen?

[DanielPT]

Yes! YES! - now everyone will watch German TV, starting of F1 and spreading more and more while watching with listening to commentary with amplifiers bought Aldi, a German company. This is how we will win that war after 70 long years.

Does RTL still air that beer commercial with the lake before quali and race?
I remember seeing that even three or four years ago, when the stupid Hungarian RTL didn't bother to show the North+South-American qualis to show live...

That Krombacher commercial? It became synonymous with RTL F1 broadcast for me. I kind of miss it now...

[Shizuka]

That Krombacher commercial? It became synonymous with RTL F1 broadcast for me. I kind of miss it now...

Yes, it was Krombacher!

[This]

Just great, my cable broadcaster has just announced that it will not broadcast BBC-channels anymore
(yes i still have cable, and i will not buy digital tv until i live on my own, and it will not be Telenet )

[dinizintheoven]

Just great, my cable broadcaster has just announced that it will not broadcast BBC-channels anymore

You want the BBC back? Do what I did, only - sort of - in reverse. Astra 2, 28.2°E, this is your friend, and I'll bet there's a DIY store in your part of Belgium selling satellite kits for 50 euros or so.

[AndreaModa]

Murdoch's trying to get under my skin...I have to face both of these on my way in and out of the city centre!





I must admit, it's all starting to have an effect, once I have my own TV and licence, I may have to join the dark side folks, I'm sorry!

[Collieafc]

I must admit, it's all starting to have an effect, once I have my own TV and licence, I may have to join the dark side folks, I'm sorry!

NO! RESIST THE TEMPTATION!

Sorry But if enough people give Sky the cold shoulder, they may reconsider their F1 deal...

[JeanDenisAlcatraz]

Yes! YES! - now everyone will watch German TV, starting of F1 and spreading more and more while watching with listening to commentary with amplifiers bought Aldi, a German company. This is how we will win that war after 70 long years.

Does RTL still air that beer commercial with the lake before quali and race?
I remember seeing that even three or four years ago, when the stupid Hungarian RTL didn't bother to show the North+South-American qualis to show live...

That Krombacher commercial? It became synonymous with RTL F1 broadcast for me. I kind of miss it now...

Shame it tastes like a sick cat's urine.

[Kobacrashi]

Sky channel 408!!!!

Check it out, there is a nice video of a Williams being built, a short interview with Emerson fitipaldi and an interview with a Williams man.

Also there is a couple of really nicely shot 3 minute films with a good shot of Christian horner looking worried.

I think sky are going to cover this really well as they cover a variety of sports very well and they.have a lot of money to throw at the coverage. I can see them taking over camera duties from FOM and launching f1 3d like they have in football.

One things for sure now sky have sunk their claws in they will never let go and its only a matter of time till the BBC shows nothing f1 related!

[14 Hundred Hours]

One things for sure now sky have sunk their claws in they will never let go and its only a matter of time till the BBC shows nothing f1 related!

Speaking of BBC F1 related stuff- Kimi Raikkonen to appear on Top Gear next weekend. Not sure if that's been mentioned here yet...

[dinizintheoven]

That should be a laugh a minute - especially as the seven-foot-tall orang-utan previously described something exceptionally boring as "it's like doing an interview with Kimi Raikkonen", back in the McLaren days.

Time to stock the Dunsfold hangar with Coke and Magnums...

[Minardi Man]

Wow the Williams video is long

[WeirdKerr]

Wow the Williams video is long

yeah ... it was good to watch

as for Kimi goning to be on Top Gear..... OMG!!!! cool

and slash

[14 Hundred Hours]

They probably had to get another guest on in case the interview with Kimi lasted as long as it took to write this...

[WeirdKerr]

One for the listeners.... but....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17268711

[dr-baker]

One for the listeners.... but....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17268711

Remind, what is the walking, talking F1 encyclopedia, Karun Chandok, doing this season? Is he continuing on the BBC? He has been great over the past season or two on BBC radio when he's not been racing.

[Alianora La Canta]

The Karunpaedia is racing for JRM in LMP1 of the World Endurance Championship. It clashes with three rounds of F1 (Australia, Italy and India) but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of him doing some commentary work during other parts of the season.

[AndreaModa]

He said during his talk at Coventry Uni that the only reason he did the work for 5 Live before was because he was in the paddock, and had little else to do, being just a reserve driver. Considering he doesn't yet have a role in the F1 this season, he's unlikely to be at many (if any) races so it's unlikely he'll do much for 5 Live.

[dr-baker]

He said during his talk at Coventry Uni that the only reason he did the work for 5 Live before was because he was in the paddock, and had little else to do, being just a reserve driver. Considering he doesn't yet have a role in the F1 this season, he's unlikely to be at many (if any) races so it's unlikely he'll do much for 5 Live.

[Wizzie]

A Mr K.Raikkonen on Top Gear.

He doesn't know who he's driving for