The BBC will only show half of live Formula One races from next year, it's been revealed, after the BBC and Sky joined forces to obtain the rights to Formula One broadcasting.
Sky will have live coverage of all the races, qualifying and practice, while the BBC will cover half the fixtures with 'extended highlights'. The BBC has, however, netted certain 'key' events, including the Monaco GP, the British GP, and the final race of the season.
The deal, which runs from 2012 until 2018, will be the first time that all F1 races have not been screened live on free-to-air TV. Despite this, the BBC, is putting a positive spin on things - and it is, we suppose, worth pointing out that this is better than the possibility that the BBC would drop the sport entirely in order to save money.
"We are absolutely delighted that [Formula One] will remain on the BBC," said Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport. "The sport has never been more popular, with TV audiences at a 10-year high, and the BBC has always stated its commitment to the big national sporting moments.
"With this new deal not only have we delivered significant savings but we have also ensured that through our live and extended highlights coverage all the action continues to be available to licence fee payers."
The BBC F1 team seemed somewhat less upbeat, however. "Found out last night, no idea how it will work yet - I'm out of contract, will calmly work through options. Not impressed," said Martin Brundle via Twitter. Jake Humphrey, meanwhile, said "Feels like the right time to say how proud I am of the whole BBC F1 production team & the programmes we've produced for you guys since '09'."
And as for BBC F1 Pundit Eddie Jordan, well he seems to be wearing his heart firmly on his sleeve: "Now everyone will understand why this twitter account is not connected to the BBC website. #SickFeeling," he tweeted, following up with: "This is terrible news. I'm actually in a daze. All of the team are as shocked as the wonderful F1 fans."
This is already generating plenty of chat on PH, as you'd imagine - so you can join the discussion on the existing thread here.