Friday 29 July 2011

Complaint Sent to BBC Regarding F1 Coverage

It was announced today that from 2012, broadcast rights for Formula One races will be shared between the current holder, BBC Sport, and Sky Sports. The BBC will show a selection of races live, including Monaco, Silverstone and the final race of the season, while Sky Sports (a premium rate pay-TV channel) will broadcast every single race. Twitter is fuming with rage over the announcement, and I felt compelled to make a formal complaint:
As a license fee payer, I would like to make abundantly clear that I find the newly announced Formula One broadcast arrangements abhorrent. BBC Sport director Barbara Slater's 'delight' over the matter fills me with ire, as I know of not a single follower of F1 that will share her sentiments.
This is a monumental betrayal of those that have supported the BBC and F1 in recent years, and an appalling slight to the BAFTA award-winning production team and presenters that have raised the sport to its current heights.
No, broadcasting 'some' of the races live is not cause for delight or celebration of any kind. The loss of any F1 races to a non-free-to-air channel is a disaster for the sport, and signals the advent of a dark age for Formula One, and a complete loss of trust in BBC management.
Disgrace.
Update: McLaren team principle Martin Whitmarsh questions the legality of the deal, as it may breach the Concorde Agreement that binds the F1 teams and management, and dictates the broadcast rights principles.