Martin Whitmarsh has spoken out about the TV sharing deal
between Sky TV and the BBC.
Whitmarsh admitted that it should be seen as a positive
thing for the sport. Ecclestone's move to share TV broadcasting between Sky,
who created their own dedicated channel, and the BBC, who replaced ITV for
2009, was announced around a year ago.
The Mclaren team principal told Autosport esclusively "My inbox is less choked now with emails from Mr. Outraged from Leamington Spa, I take things like that seriously, because they are our fans and they felt betrayed by it. We all felt a little bit upset that it happened - although in fairness to Bernie, everyone blamed him, the sport, and me for it, but actually the decision, the choice, was the BBC's in the first place. So in fairness to Bernie, he did a masterful job to sidestep an issue, to create what we have got today."
F1 fans were outraged by the move to switch F1 to pay to view TV, with half of this year’s races being shown on the BBC and the full calendar being shown on Sky Sports F1. BBC have kept up the high quality of their programme but for the 10 races they miss, F1 fans who cannot watch on Sky have to do with a highlights show later in the day.
However, despite the fans outrage at the deal when it was announced, F1 is growing in the UK. Combined figures show that the early season races like Australia, Malaysia and China had greater viewing figures. However, races like Canada and Monaco (where they were shown on both channels live) were down on 2011. It has been a mixed bag so far, but Whitmarsh has praised Sky in taking over F1's full broadcasting, saying "I think Sky has put a tremendous amount of energy into the coverage," he said. "We used to be obsessed with bums on seats in front of television sets, but that is going to be as antiquated as considering the lending of library books as a measurement for literature."
He also added "We were all very worried about it, but pay-per-view, with all its different outlets; it is much more complex than the traditional approach."
The BBC and Sky have both done incredible jobs this season, with the viewing figures showing that both channels are growing in popularity and holding on to viewers. Despite losing key characters to their squad, the BBC has kept that humorous but knowledgeable line up. Sky were thrown in at the deep end and have used their resources to the max, creating in depth coverage and putting together a world class line up which matches that of the BBC.
What do you make of Whitmarsh's comments? Tweet me @JackLeslieF1.
The Mclaren team principal told Autosport esclusively "My inbox is less choked now with emails from Mr. Outraged from Leamington Spa, I take things like that seriously, because they are our fans and they felt betrayed by it. We all felt a little bit upset that it happened - although in fairness to Bernie, everyone blamed him, the sport, and me for it, but actually the decision, the choice, was the BBC's in the first place. So in fairness to Bernie, he did a masterful job to sidestep an issue, to create what we have got today."
F1 fans were outraged by the move to switch F1 to pay to view TV, with half of this year’s races being shown on the BBC and the full calendar being shown on Sky Sports F1. BBC have kept up the high quality of their programme but for the 10 races they miss, F1 fans who cannot watch on Sky have to do with a highlights show later in the day.
However, despite the fans outrage at the deal when it was announced, F1 is growing in the UK. Combined figures show that the early season races like Australia, Malaysia and China had greater viewing figures. However, races like Canada and Monaco (where they were shown on both channels live) were down on 2011. It has been a mixed bag so far, but Whitmarsh has praised Sky in taking over F1's full broadcasting, saying "I think Sky has put a tremendous amount of energy into the coverage," he said. "We used to be obsessed with bums on seats in front of television sets, but that is going to be as antiquated as considering the lending of library books as a measurement for literature."
He also added "We were all very worried about it, but pay-per-view, with all its different outlets; it is much more complex than the traditional approach."
The BBC and Sky have both done incredible jobs this season, with the viewing figures showing that both channels are growing in popularity and holding on to viewers. Despite losing key characters to their squad, the BBC has kept that humorous but knowledgeable line up. Sky were thrown in at the deep end and have used their resources to the max, creating in depth coverage and putting together a world class line up which matches that of the BBC.
What do you make of Whitmarsh's comments? Tweet me @JackLeslieF1.
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