New channel 4 deal for 2020.

[Eric Mc]

If they had more general motor sport content and more retrospective look backs at motor sport history, I'd be very tempted to buy Sky F1. But its wall to wall and almost exclusive coverage of current F1 is just overkill for me and I wouldn't get enough value out of my investment.

[Welshbeef]

Eric Mc said:

If they had more general motor sport content and more retrospective look backs at motor sport history, I'd be very tempted to buy Sky F1. But its wall to wall and almost exclusive coverage of current F1 is just overkill for me and I wouldn't get enough value out of my investment.

You clearly don’t watch SkyF1 channel then.

It’s constantly got very old races replayed I see this often (rarely watch the old stuff but it’s there)

[E-bmw]

Welshbeef said:

Eric Mc said:

If they had more general motor sport content and more retrospective look backs at motor sport history, I'd be very tempted to buy Sky F1. But its wall to wall and almost exclusive coverage of current F1 is just overkill for me and I wouldn't get enough value out of my investment.

You clearly don’t watch SkyF1 channel then.

It’s constantly got very old races replayed I see this often (rarely watch the old stuff but it’s there)

^^^^ Wot 'e said, wall to wall coverage of old races all year round except on race weekend & even then they are there also.

[GTBob]

What a lot of negative comments about F1. No one is making anyone watch it. Some of us love it. I watched every race (except Monza which I attended) live with a NowTV Day pass. Makes no difference to me whether C4 get 50 or 70%. I want to see 100% live and the cost of a day pass doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
Bob

[schmalex]

Welshbeef said:

schmalex said:

Thank goodness. I have Sky F1 as part of the package and, frankly, it’s awful. I much prefer watching the highlights on ffwd on C4. I’ve got better things to do on any given Sunday than watch the bore-fest that is live F1

I’ve Sky F1 and don’t see why you’d think it’s awful?

The coverage of races isn’t great. It’s all a bit “shouty”. In the off season, they just show rerun after rerun of dull GP races. It’d be so much better if they showed other motorsports

[Eric Mc]

E-bmw said:

^^^^ Wot 'e said, wall to wall coverage of old races all year round except on race weekend & even then they are there also.

How old?

Are they all F1?

[Evangelion]

vaud said:

Evangelion said:

I thought 50% was too long for some of the races this year.

This year? Why, what do you know?

Sorry, I meant to say last year, I haven't got 2020 vision.

[TheDeuce]

Eric Mc said:

E-bmw said:

^^^^ Wot 'e said, wall to wall coverage of old races all year round except on race weekend & even then they are there also.

How old?

Are they all F1?

Typically last 30 years. They also have a few docu-type segments on races from the 50s and 60s.

For the sake of a few quid a month F1TV is the best bet for anyone wanting to watch historic races - they have the F1 archive of races to watch on demand. It's not complete, but they're adding more at a healthy rate. Several hundred viewable today at least. They already have all of 2019 to re-watch too.

[Eric Mc]

30 year only takes us back to 1990. I've been following F1 and other motor sport since the mid 1960s. And it's been around a lot longer than that - and footage exists right to the dawn of the sport. Indeed, my own VHS tapes of Grand Prix go back to the 1983 season.

You Tube has become a great resource for Grand Prix footage I thought had gone forever - stuff like the actual TV coverage of the 1965 Monaco GP, or the 1973 German GP - so there is lots of stuff out there.

If they really were a serious motorsport channel then they would splash the cash and get access to old archives and show something for everybody.

[TheDeuce]

Eric Mc said:

30 year only takes us back to 1990. I've been following F1 and other motor sport since the mid 1960s. And it's been around a lot longer than that - and footage exists right to the dawn of the sport. Indeed, my own VHS tapes of Grand Prix go back to the 1983 season.

You Tube has become a great resource for Grand Prix footage I thought had gone forever - stuff like the actual TV coverage of the 1965 Monaco GP, or the 1973 German GP - so there is lots of stuff out there.

If they really were a serious motorsport channel then they would splash the cash and get access to old archives and show something for everybody.

You have to be realistic though, what they show is a balance between what they judge their viewers want (and they do surveys and check the results against viewership) and the cost of whatever they show. Also it IS billed as an 'F1' channel, not motorsport in general. Whatever extra they do show, they don't have to.

Rather than complain that sky doesn't offer what you want, just go pay £2.99 a month for F1TV, you'll have access to historic races/highlights back to the start of the 80's and soon further back too. All original TV footage with commentary. Other than collecting an obscene number of VHS tapes (which will cost more), it's the best resource there is.

[HardtopManual]

NowTV might just about be worth it if they offered catchup. That they don't (and the fact that it's only 720p) is unforgivable in 2020.

[TheDeuce]

HardtopManual said:

NowTV might just about be worth it if they offered catchup. That they don't (and the fact that it's only 720p) is unforgivable in 2020.

True on both counts. It really is a bit poor these days. Discounted nowtv passes do remain the best value way to watch sky F1 race weekends, but it also could be improved.

Frankly the whole sky offering these days is starting to look a bit dated though - I'd look elsewhere for the 4k F1 future of broadcasting! Just a shame we have to wait another 5 years for the sky contract to expire.

[Welshbeef]

SkyF1 HD is actually UHD it’s stunning

[TheDeuce]

Welshbeef said:

SkyF1 HD is actually UHD it’s stunning

True, but access to the same channel via now TV, the affordable option, is not.

It's great if you're a sky customer and like sport in general and get the benefits of the sports package. For those of us that simply want to pay a fair price to watch F1 races, the offering is expensive and compromised.

[Eric Mc]

Sorry, I have no obscene VHS tapes. They all wore out years ago.

[TheDeuce]

Eric Mc said:

Sorry, I have no obscene VHS tapes. They all wore out years ago.

What to say!? If the tapes wore out before you did then You're doing fairly well

[Eric Mc]

Iron oxide has a finite life.

[rdjohn]

HardtopManual said:

Sky F1 is awful because:

- Croft
- Lazenby
- Herbert (responsible for some of this most cringeworthy TV I've ever seen)

Considering how much it costs, it's rubbish. I had the NowTV annual pass last season. Won't be a repeat customer.

I agree with your top-3, but I think that you can compare any of the roles with the former live Whisper team and find them inferior.

In the bull-pit interviews, either of the SKY women make a long winded statement posing as a question that leaves the drivers with nothing to play with. Lee McKenzie would ask a succinct but well formulated question that would tease an informative answer from the driver - even Kimi.

The SKY coverage is simply not fit for purpose, the cost simply makes it unpalatable.

[thegreenhell]

TheDeuce said:

Eric Mc said:

E-bmw said:

^^^^ Wot 'e said, wall to wall coverage of old races all year round except on race weekend & even then they are there also.

How old?

Are they all F1?

Typically last 30 years. They also have a few docu-type segments on races from the 50s and 60s.

Since the end of the 2019 season they've had endless replays of the 2019 races, a different one each day including all practice sessions. Endlessly, on a loop. Today is an exception because they are showing a few races from 2010-2012 to celebrate Jenson Button's birthday. Tomorrow is back to a rerun of the entire 2019 Hungarian GP weekend. Again.

During the season they have endless replays of the most recent race, interspersed with replays of Ted's notebook and driver profiles and suchlike. In the run up to a new race you might get one or two old races shown that are related to the upcoming GP.

I don't know where they are hiding all these wall to wall replays of 30 year old races that other people think they are seeing, because they aren't on the Sky F1 channel that I get.

[Dinoboy]

Crofty ruins it for me, his voice is like nails down a blackboard. I don't think he's a real person, just a recording of the same set 20 statements that someone in a studio button presses.
I'll be watching the delayed ch4 coverage this year.