F1 TV audience dwindling.
Discussion
MissChief said:
As usual I see people talking about how Sky is a dying service and behind the times when they've grown subscriber numbers every year for around 4 years in a row? You now have Netflix integrated into the boxes (albeit with lower quality settings (no 4k on Mini boxes and no HDR but that'll come next year) and if you also take the Sky box Sets package you can save money overall and pay less for your Netflix too.
The Eleven Sports palaver shows that the majority of people still want to watch their live sport on a big screen TV sitting on a comfy sofa, not on a tablet or mobile. While Sky is the major place to watch Premier League Football and many other sports including the F1 they'll continue to have a core of customers. Sky are also well aware that their USP for many people is the Sport and they'll continue to bankroll the PL and other sports as well. Sky have decided to work with BT Sport and Netflix as both of those companies see Facebook, Google, Apple and Disney+ as potential major players in the future. Amazon had some football this year, when the next round of rights comes up for auction we could see Amazon outbidding BT Sport or Sky. If Amazon wanted to they could blow Sky out of the water and take all their PL football away, they're that cash rich, but since Sky got taken over by Comcast their pockets are, if anything deeper than ever before.
Can you give a source for those subscription numbers? One that shows an 4 year on year increase specifically in Sky TV subscribers, not broadband, line rental etc - which they have discounted for several years to keep people in the Sky product family. I have Sky line rental and broadband because it works out the best value for me, but I don't have Sky TV at all, so I don't include myself as a subscriber - but do they..?The Eleven Sports palaver shows that the majority of people still want to watch their live sport on a big screen TV sitting on a comfy sofa, not on a tablet or mobile. While Sky is the major place to watch Premier League Football and many other sports including the F1 they'll continue to have a core of customers. Sky are also well aware that their USP for many people is the Sport and they'll continue to bankroll the PL and other sports as well. Sky have decided to work with BT Sport and Netflix as both of those companies see Facebook, Google, Apple and Disney+ as potential major players in the future. Amazon had some football this year, when the next round of rights comes up for auction we could see Amazon outbidding BT Sport or Sky. If Amazon wanted to they could blow Sky out of the water and take all their PL football away, they're that cash rich, but since Sky got taken over by Comcast their pockets are, if anything deeper than ever before.
TheDeuce said:
Can you give a source for those subscription numbers? One that shows an 4 year on year increase specifically in Sky TV subscribers, not broadband, line rental etc - which they have discounted for several years to keep people in the Sky product family. I have Sky line rental and broadband because it works out the best value for me, but I don't have Sky TV at all, so I don't include myself as a subscriber - but do they..?
This seems to suggest the oppositehttps://www.barb.co.uk/tv-landscape-reports/tracke...
Q3 2014 9.12 M
Q3 2019 8.54 M
stemll said:
TheDeuce said:
Can you give a source for those subscription numbers? One that shows an 4 year on year increase specifically in Sky TV subscribers, not broadband, line rental etc - which they have discounted for several years to keep people in the Sky product family. I have Sky line rental and broadband because it works out the best value for me, but I don't have Sky TV at all, so I don't include myself as a subscriber - but do they..?
This seems to suggest the oppositehttps://www.barb.co.uk/tv-landscape-reports/tracke...
Q3 2014 9.12 M
Q3 2019 8.54 M
Don't get me wrong, Sky are still MASSIVE players in UK broadcasting terms today, but their future isn't well aligned against their global competitors. I was recently working on a AAA movie that had to change studios at the last minute, the reason? Netflix had booked up every single sound stage in the entire studio complex for the next ten years, the money to do that is just insane! No way can Sky compete with that level of original content production - and I actually work on Sky's own commissioned biggest show.
The gulf between the two companies future prospects in huge. And then Amazon... They're in to everything, and when they reach a certain size they'll have country purchasing power. Sky is a mainly UK focused already slightly out of date company flogging the people what they want. Their new competitors are global companies that decide what the people want and have the power to change trends in what people watch. The future ain't Sky. F1 will remain and at some point, it won't be on Sky it will be on another UK network, if not simply on F1TV (also on Amazon, who already work with FOM and Liberty).
I'm one who used to love F1 but over the years I ditched Sky and eventually the licence fee completely - I now have no live TV at all. I do have Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions (although the latter by default as it still works out cheaper/quicker on delivery with Prime than without).
F1 (and Sky's) issue is that even if the racing were utterly amazing and the glory days of F1 I would never know about it as I'll never see it. And even if I DID know it's amazing, there's no way I'm forking out £627 to watch 21 races... Sky are offering 'Premier League + F1' for £18/mo for 12 months then £30/mo for the next 6 (18 month min. contract) - for starters, why do I have to pay for football I have no interest in? I'd also need to pay the BBC licence fee for that 18 months (around £231) in order to watch Sky on F1. Also that 18-month contract would see me left 'mid-season' so I guess they've calculated that carefully to try and hook people in to another contract during the middle of the races...
It's a f
ked up system which offers terrible value and it's no wonder more and more people are ditching not just Sky but the licence fee too when there's so much other quality content available from other sources. Even if Sky, with their NetFlix partnership, somehow offered F1 via NetFlix I wouldn't be able to watch it as I would need to pay for a TV Licence in order to watch a streamed race being broadcast live. Ridiculous.
F1 (and Sky's) issue is that even if the racing were utterly amazing and the glory days of F1 I would never know about it as I'll never see it. And even if I DID know it's amazing, there's no way I'm forking out £627 to watch 21 races... Sky are offering 'Premier League + F1' for £18/mo for 12 months then £30/mo for the next 6 (18 month min. contract) - for starters, why do I have to pay for football I have no interest in? I'd also need to pay the BBC licence fee for that 18 months (around £231) in order to watch Sky on F1. Also that 18-month contract would see me left 'mid-season' so I guess they've calculated that carefully to try and hook people in to another contract during the middle of the races...
It's a f
ked up system which offers terrible value and it's no wonder more and more people are ditching not just Sky but the licence fee too when there's so much other quality content available from other sources. Even if Sky, with their NetFlix partnership, somehow offered F1 via NetFlix I wouldn't be able to watch it as I would need to pay for a TV Licence in order to watch a streamed race being broadcast live. Ridiculous.On a per race basis, the average loss is 400,000.
I don’t find this figure surprising at all. The highlights package is excellent but a tad late in a world where the results are known, and widely broadcast, a few minutes after the cars cross the line.
The saddest thing was that 2019 was a pretty good season. Much as I love F1, I think that Bernie was wrong to believe that it was a serious proposition to be the second biggest global event after the Olympics.
I don’t find this figure surprising at all. The highlights package is excellent but a tad late in a world where the results are known, and widely broadcast, a few minutes after the cars cross the line.
The saddest thing was that 2019 was a pretty good season. Much as I love F1, I think that Bernie was wrong to believe that it was a serious proposition to be the second biggest global event after the Olympics.
F1 has, regrettably become boring. The desire for the 'green effect' means engines don't blow up very often. When they do, there is ALWAYS a period of safety car or VSC to remove the car from the side of the track. Overtaking happens in pit stops and the race is won or lost on tyre management.
In the 70s and 80s cars that stopped on track were pushed off the racing line and the race continued. Engines and gearboxes let go, polesitters or top three weren't guaranteed to win. Cars overtook on track.
And now you have to pay to watch effectively a procession.
That's why the audience is falling. It's expensive and boring. I'm one of those people. I don't care if I see it or not. Once upon a time it was a never miss. I don't have a problem with the evolution of the sport, but ultimately it doesn't hold attention for the masses because it's not exciting. It is supported to be the pinnacle of motorsport, yet there are many many other formulae that are more exciting to watch. And that is Liberty's problem. How to square the circle with it's 'green effect' and keep it exciting?
In the 70s and 80s cars that stopped on track were pushed off the racing line and the race continued. Engines and gearboxes let go, polesitters or top three weren't guaranteed to win. Cars overtook on track.
And now you have to pay to watch effectively a procession.
That's why the audience is falling. It's expensive and boring. I'm one of those people. I don't care if I see it or not. Once upon a time it was a never miss. I don't have a problem with the evolution of the sport, but ultimately it doesn't hold attention for the masses because it's not exciting. It is supported to be the pinnacle of motorsport, yet there are many many other formulae that are more exciting to watch. And that is Liberty's problem. How to square the circle with it's 'green effect' and keep it exciting?
So Sky F1 viewers/subscribers up, FTA down, is that not Sky's business model? & is that not the way TV is going, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Britbox?
Anyway, My F1 TV is working just fine, I do miss the buildup and post production/analysis of Sky (& tbf the best bits they put on twitter anyway), but for £55.00 pa for 20+ races, Quali, Practice, Full live timing, Pitlane channel and pick your own onboards I can't complain.
Anyway, My F1 TV is working just fine, I do miss the buildup and post production/analysis of Sky (& tbf the best bits they put on twitter anyway), but for £55.00 pa for 20+ races, Quali, Practice, Full live timing, Pitlane channel and pick your own onboards I can't complain.
I was a fanatical F1 fan from the mid-90s onwards, watched every bit of it I could, free practice, quali etc. I also attended races, spending my own money on tickets and free time on attending.
When it switched to sky, I decided not to pay for it - I have freeview and to be honest begrudge paying for a sport I have followed since I was a kid and where my viewership is part of the package that appeals to the sponsors.
To be honest I have found having my Sunday afternoons freed up to be liberating, I now catch the highlights on C4 or the excellent all4 player later in the evening. I have watched a couple of races on Sky at other people's houses and to be honest I don't feel like I'm missing much by not having the package. The coverage is typical of sky, all glitz and drama but little substance. The channel 4 guys at least seem like genuine fans and have a bit of fun with it.
I think F1 coverage for me peaked with Jake Humphries on the BBC and I doubt we'll ever get back to those heights.
If F1 ever disappears fully behind a paywall, I can see myself slipping away from it, checking forums like this from time to time. Maybe the 2021 regulations will make it brilliant and well worth paying for, but I doubt it. I still love the sport itself, I don't love the messing about around it, lets just bloody race and lets make it so people can watch it for free, watch the sponsors, manufacturers and TV companies queue up.
When it switched to sky, I decided not to pay for it - I have freeview and to be honest begrudge paying for a sport I have followed since I was a kid and where my viewership is part of the package that appeals to the sponsors.
To be honest I have found having my Sunday afternoons freed up to be liberating, I now catch the highlights on C4 or the excellent all4 player later in the evening. I have watched a couple of races on Sky at other people's houses and to be honest I don't feel like I'm missing much by not having the package. The coverage is typical of sky, all glitz and drama but little substance. The channel 4 guys at least seem like genuine fans and have a bit of fun with it.
I think F1 coverage for me peaked with Jake Humphries on the BBC and I doubt we'll ever get back to those heights.
If F1 ever disappears fully behind a paywall, I can see myself slipping away from it, checking forums like this from time to time. Maybe the 2021 regulations will make it brilliant and well worth paying for, but I doubt it. I still love the sport itself, I don't love the messing about around it, lets just bloody race and lets make it so people can watch it for free, watch the sponsors, manufacturers and TV companies queue up.
That has been my philosophy.
It does not really matter to F1 whether Sky is gaining or losing audiences. What DOES matter to F1 is whether it is losing audiences in any given "market" - and there is no doubt that the audience in the UK has crashed - as was always the likely outcome.
As for the future, I actually think that F1 (and motorsport in general) is on a downward slide as far as popularity is concerned. Moving it to "pay to view only" formats only ensures that the decline in popularity is happening faster than it otherwise might.
It does not really matter to F1 whether Sky is gaining or losing audiences. What DOES matter to F1 is whether it is losing audiences in any given "market" - and there is no doubt that the audience in the UK has crashed - as was always the likely outcome.
As for the future, I actually think that F1 (and motorsport in general) is on a downward slide as far as popularity is concerned. Moving it to "pay to view only" formats only ensures that the decline in popularity is happening faster than it otherwise might.
I'm not convinced by the 'F1 is a procession' argument anymore..... if you look back at the 80's, and the McLaren dominance, and then the 2000's with the Ferrari dominance and the fact that all through history races have been won by 30sec's or so, today's racing is very close. We have the majority of wins being only by a few seconds now!!
I started watching back in the mid 80's. I only started watching because it was pissing down with rain and Monaco was on and my Dad was watching it. If it was behind a paywall I would probably never have watched it for so many years. If F1 disappears behind a paywall, then liberty needs to find a way to drag people in. These days, my guess is it will come from You tube clips, dragging people into F1TV and not Sky though.
I subscribe to all the sports channels. My bill each month is around 130 inc broadband, which is just ridiculous. I do think Sky F1 is good value for money though. They give you more each year, including the historic races from past seasons. I do watch the pre/post race stuff less and less though. It's the same crap each show. Might try F1TV next year.
What pisses me off is everything is paywalled these days. If you want to watch the F1, MotoGP and PL then your looking at over £1000. then another £30 per boxing match, etc etc etc. You really have to pick and choose what you subscribe too, which limits what people will watch. I had to make a conscious decision last year to drop BT Sport which I just used for MotoGP. If it was reasonably priced I might have kept it but £400 a year just to watch the MotoGP......
I started watching back in the mid 80's. I only started watching because it was pissing down with rain and Monaco was on and my Dad was watching it. If it was behind a paywall I would probably never have watched it for so many years. If F1 disappears behind a paywall, then liberty needs to find a way to drag people in. These days, my guess is it will come from You tube clips, dragging people into F1TV and not Sky though.
I subscribe to all the sports channels. My bill each month is around 130 inc broadband, which is just ridiculous. I do think Sky F1 is good value for money though. They give you more each year, including the historic races from past seasons. I do watch the pre/post race stuff less and less though. It's the same crap each show. Might try F1TV next year.
What pisses me off is everything is paywalled these days. If you want to watch the F1, MotoGP and PL then your looking at over £1000. then another £30 per boxing match, etc etc etc. You really have to pick and choose what you subscribe too, which limits what people will watch. I had to make a conscious decision last year to drop BT Sport which I just used for MotoGP. If it was reasonably priced I might have kept it but £400 a year just to watch the MotoGP......
I don't think the quality of the racing has that much to do with whether a person follows F1 or not. To me it's as much a cultural thing as a "sport" thing.
If you lock the culture away for the select few - that's how it will end up, a minority culture, rather than being part of popular culture. Maybe that's what F1 wants (a modern version of the old Brooklands mantra, "The Right Crowd - and No Crowding"). Maybe that's how they see themselves - as an elite that only the "elite" and "right crowd" should be following.
If you lock the culture away for the select few - that's how it will end up, a minority culture, rather than being part of popular culture. Maybe that's what F1 wants (a modern version of the old Brooklands mantra, "The Right Crowd - and No Crowding"). Maybe that's how they see themselves - as an elite that only the "elite" and "right crowd" should be following.
super7 said:
I'm not convinced by the 'F1 is a procession' argument anymore..... if you look back at the 80's, and the McLaren dominance, and then the 2000's with the Ferrari dominance and the fact that all through history races have been won by 30sec's or so, today's racing is very close. We have the majority of wins being only by a few seconds now!!
I started watching back in the mid 80's. I only started watching because it was pissing down with rain and Monaco was on and my Dad was watching it. If it was behind a paywall I would probably never have watched it for so many years. If F1 disappears behind a paywall, then liberty needs to find a way to drag people in. These days, my guess is it will come from You tube clips, dragging people into F1TV and not Sky though.
I subscribe to all the sports channels. My bill each month is around 130 inc broadband, which is just ridiculous. I do think Sky F1 is good value for money though. They give you more each year, including the historic races from past seasons. I do watch the pre/post race stuff less and less though. It's the same crap each show. Might try F1TV next year.
What pisses me off is everything is paywalled these days. If you want to watch the F1, MotoGP and PL then your looking at over £1000. then another £30 per boxing match, etc etc etc. You really have to pick and choose what you subscribe too, which limits what people will watch. I had to make a conscious decision last year to drop BT Sport which I just used for MotoGP. If it was reasonably priced I might have kept it but £400 a year just to watch the MotoGP......
Exactly. The racing is far, far better now than it ever was. More cars close together, more cars finishing and more cars on the lead lap. People have rose tinted glasses, especially for the 80’s. The majority of races were deathly dull. Twenty or thirty seconds between drivers, five or six cars on the lead lap, half a dozen retirements or more.I started watching back in the mid 80's. I only started watching because it was pissing down with rain and Monaco was on and my Dad was watching it. If it was behind a paywall I would probably never have watched it for so many years. If F1 disappears behind a paywall, then liberty needs to find a way to drag people in. These days, my guess is it will come from You tube clips, dragging people into F1TV and not Sky though.
I subscribe to all the sports channels. My bill each month is around 130 inc broadband, which is just ridiculous. I do think Sky F1 is good value for money though. They give you more each year, including the historic races from past seasons. I do watch the pre/post race stuff less and less though. It's the same crap each show. Might try F1TV next year.
What pisses me off is everything is paywalled these days. If you want to watch the F1, MotoGP and PL then your looking at over £1000. then another £30 per boxing match, etc etc etc. You really have to pick and choose what you subscribe too, which limits what people will watch. I had to make a conscious decision last year to drop BT Sport which I just used for MotoGP. If it was reasonably priced I might have kept it but £400 a year just to watch the MotoGP......
TheDeuce said:
People have their own preference for what makes a 'good' season. And as folk age, what they qualify as 'good' tends to lean towards what they got used to when they were younger 
But taking a step back, objectively I would say this season (2019) was about as good as the sport has ever been. Most of the extra drama from previous era's was caused by unreliability and danger which isn't exactly the stuff of sporting accomplishment. This season, the cars could race, they could pass - and they did, more so than for a very long time.
It depends how you watch I guess. But in terms of racing to identify the best in each team and overall, this season is very hard to beat. For true race fans, it's been epic. I expect the upcoming season will be more of the same, essentially an extension of 2019, or if you prefer, the second half of the 2019 story
I must have been watching something completely different to you. There were a few decent races, but a season where everyone can name the champion before halftime, and where it's mathematically sewn up five races from the end is not a vintage season of racing. It was just another year of the same guys winning again, just like the previous five years. I confidently predict Hamilton and Mercedes for the win in 2020. How exciting is that?But taking a step back, objectively I would say this season (2019) was about as good as the sport has ever been. Most of the extra drama from previous era's was caused by unreliability and danger which isn't exactly the stuff of sporting accomplishment. This season, the cars could race, they could pass - and they did, more so than for a very long time.
It depends how you watch I guess. But in terms of racing to identify the best in each team and overall, this season is very hard to beat. For true race fans, it's been epic. I expect the upcoming season will be more of the same, essentially an extension of 2019, or if you prefer, the second half of the 2019 story
If you want to see F1 at its best as a sporting contest then you need to go back and watch the period 2006-2010 and 2012 - multiple drivers from multiple teams fighting it out, usually to the last race of the season. This hybrid era has really sucked the life out of the sport for me.
Tyre Smoke said:
F1 has, regrettably become boring. The desire for the 'green effect' means engines don't blow up very often. When they do, there is ALWAYS a period of safety car or VSC to remove the car from the side of the track. Overtaking happens in pit stops and the race is won or lost on tyre management.
Yes, when reliability was poor, it meant you got the occasional bizarre or fairy-tale result (like Panis winning at Monaco in 1996). I'm sure there are arguments both ways - but for me, one of the attractions was the "chance" element of the whole thing - which has pretty much been removed these days.Although at least 2019 gave us 3 teams winning races. Not sure it would have been 3 teams without Max Verstappen though
I won't pay Sky for races. I've followed F1 since 1986, but in recent years I've found I barely watch any races live. Last year, I mainly relied on the free 5 minute highlights on the F1 YouTube channel. Usually that shows you all you needed to know about the race.
I guess everyone feels they were lucky enough to be a fan through the best ever era of the sport. For me, it was the 1990s, perhaps up until the V8s arrived in 2006. But I'm sure if you were a fan in the 1970s, you'd say that was the golden era.
Edited by stevesuk on Thursday 2nd January 11:35
I think the word is predictable.
Up until recently (roughly the hybrid/DRS era) there was no predictable results. Not with any certainty anyway.
Now, we all know Mercedes and Hamilton are going to dominate and win in 2020. And that William's will be at the back. Where's the fun in that?
Up until recently (roughly the hybrid/DRS era) there was no predictable results. Not with any certainty anyway.
Now, we all know Mercedes and Hamilton are going to dominate and win in 2020. And that William's will be at the back. Where's the fun in that?
This season has been very good......New blood competing and bringing the game to the old pro's.... and the old pro's falling around themselves with the pressure.... except for Hamilton!
This season has been defined by four things.... 1) Mercedes reliability 2) Hamilton's performance 3) Ferrari's incompetence at managing a team and strategy 4) Vettel's inability to deal with pressure.
All of these things lead to Hamilton's success but that success hides all the drama behind. If you didn't watch it ALL you'd have missed the WHOLE story of the season. Then you would turn round at the end of the season and say Wow... that was good!
But you needed a SKY F1 package to see all that.... and that's a shame because if it was free-to-air more people would be hooked, especially the youngsters who would go and buy a sim setup and get involved in their own way!
This season has been defined by four things.... 1) Mercedes reliability 2) Hamilton's performance 3) Ferrari's incompetence at managing a team and strategy 4) Vettel's inability to deal with pressure.
All of these things lead to Hamilton's success but that success hides all the drama behind. If you didn't watch it ALL you'd have missed the WHOLE story of the season. Then you would turn round at the end of the season and say Wow... that was good!
But you needed a SKY F1 package to see all that.... and that's a shame because if it was free-to-air more people would be hooked, especially the youngsters who would go and buy a sim setup and get involved in their own way!
thegreenhell said:
TheDeuce said:
People have their own preference for what makes a 'good' season. And as folk age, what they qualify as 'good' tends to lean towards what they got used to when they were younger
But taking a step back, objectively I would say this season (2019) was about as good as the sport has ever been. Most of the extra drama from previous era's was caused by unreliability and danger which isn't exactly the stuff of sporting accomplishment. This season, the cars could race, they could pass - and they did, more so than for a very long time.
It depends how you watch I guess. But in terms of racing to identify the best in each team and overall, this season is very hard to beat. For true race fans, it's been epic. I expect the upcoming season will be more of the same, essentially an extension of 2019, or if you prefer, the second half of the 2019 story
I must have been watching something completely different to you. There were a few decent races, but a season where everyone can name the champion before halftime, and where it's mathematically sewn up five races from the end is not a vintage season of racing. It was just another year of the same guys winning again, just like the previous five years. I confidently predict Hamilton and Mercedes for the win in 2020. How exciting is that?But taking a step back, objectively I would say this season (2019) was about as good as the sport has ever been. Most of the extra drama from previous era's was caused by unreliability and danger which isn't exactly the stuff of sporting accomplishment. This season, the cars could race, they could pass - and they did, more so than for a very long time.
It depends how you watch I guess. But in terms of racing to identify the best in each team and overall, this season is very hard to beat. For true race fans, it's been epic. I expect the upcoming season will be more of the same, essentially an extension of 2019, or if you prefer, the second half of the 2019 story
If you want to see F1 at its best as a sporting contest then you need to go back and watch the period 2006-2010 and 2012 - multiple drivers from multiple teams fighting it out, usually to the last race of the season. This hybrid era has really sucked the life out of the sport for me.
stevesuk said:
Although at least 2019 gave us 3 teams winning races. Not sure it would have been 3 teams without Max Verstappen though
The same three teams that have won the last 139 races. No other team has won a race since the first race of 2013. Nobody expects that to change in 2020.super7 said:
I'm not convinced by the 'F1 is a procession' argument anymore..... if you look back at the 80's, and the McLaren dominance, and then the 2000's with the Ferrari dominance and the fact that all through history races have been won by 30sec's or so, today's racing is very close. We have the majority of wins being only by a few seconds now!!
I started watching back in the mid 80's. I only started watching because it was pissing down with rain and Monaco was on and my Dad was watching it. If it was behind a paywall I would probably never have watched it for so many years. If F1 disappears behind a paywall, then liberty needs to find a way to drag people in. These days, my guess is it will come from You tube clips, dragging people into F1TV and not Sky though.
I subscribe to all the sports channels. My bill each month is around 130 inc broadband, which is just ridiculous. I do think Sky F1 is good value for money though. They give you more each year, including the historic races from past seasons. I do watch the pre/post race stuff less and less though. It's the same crap each show. Might try F1TV next year.
What pisses me off is everything is paywalled these days. If you want to watch the F1, MotoGP and PL then your looking at over £1000. then another £30 per boxing match, etc etc etc. You really have to pick and choose what you subscribe too, which limits what people will watch. I had to make a conscious decision last year to drop BT Sport which I just used for MotoGP. If it was reasonably priced I might have kept it but £400 a year just to watch the MotoGP......
I think a better approach for the customer/viewer/fans would be to cherry pick individual sports rather than subscribe to entire services for just one thing. If you could have specific sports for say £5 to £10 a month each with the ability to stream live and on demand with Chromecast compatibility, I’d be up for F1 and MotoGP no question. I don’t think F1 TV is available in the UK to protect Sky’s investment, not sure about MotoGPs service, it’s not clear on their website.I started watching back in the mid 80's. I only started watching because it was pissing down with rain and Monaco was on and my Dad was watching it. If it was behind a paywall I would probably never have watched it for so many years. If F1 disappears behind a paywall, then liberty needs to find a way to drag people in. These days, my guess is it will come from You tube clips, dragging people into F1TV and not Sky though.
I subscribe to all the sports channels. My bill each month is around 130 inc broadband, which is just ridiculous. I do think Sky F1 is good value for money though. They give you more each year, including the historic races from past seasons. I do watch the pre/post race stuff less and less though. It's the same crap each show. Might try F1TV next year.
What pisses me off is everything is paywalled these days. If you want to watch the F1, MotoGP and PL then your looking at over £1000. then another £30 per boxing match, etc etc etc. You really have to pick and choose what you subscribe too, which limits what people will watch. I had to make a conscious decision last year to drop BT Sport which I just used for MotoGP. If it was reasonably priced I might have kept it but £400 a year just to watch the MotoGP......
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