[PapaofGags]

For those who havent renewed their skyf1 subscription, I read this tweet from Brundle:

To celebrate becoming the home of live and exclusive F1, Sky Sports F1 will be available for just £10 a month from 1 March

Nice one Forza, will be calling Virgin later now I have some leverage.  

[forzaferrari]

Nice one Forza, will be calling Virgin later now I have some leverage.  

No probs Paps.....just make sure to pass on the savings to Gags via Burger King 

[PapaofGags]

https://motorsportbroadcasting.com/

Gag's just told me this, he was shocked as I bounced about, "I would have told you earlier if I knew it was important to you"  

The Chain in, Just Drive out?

One of the biggest surprises though is the inclusion of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain as the soundtrack.

More surprising considering the song has been synonymous with the BBC’s and Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage over the years.

It is unclear if The Chain is a permanent replacement for Alistair Griffin’s Just Drive, which has been Sky’s signature theme for Formula 1 since 2012.

In my view it makes little sense to use The Chain for promotional material, only to revert to Just Drive for the main show itself.

I understand it is also up in the air whether Channel 4 plan to continue using The Chain as part of their coverage this year as well.

[Monster Hesh]

hehe, that is a pleasant surprise. Makes me wonder what C4 will have now, or if its a case of C4 are just going to show Sky footage.

One is hoping that the F1 intro, that seems to last half an eternity, has had a revamp. I said it was a lacklustre soundtrack at the start of the year, and my opinion of it never changed by the end. It was good as background during the track introduction. It's just not a, iconic theme tune.

[morini]

I missed paps post yesterday, didn't know Sky were nicking the intro tune? For me The Chain *is* Formula 1 and Hesh used the correct word - iconic.

Never did like the Sky F1 intro tune, but then again, apart from the pictures, nearly everything is poor in Sky's presentation of F1. With a few notable exceptions I would get rid of most of the presentation team. Croft first in the firing line though!

[PapaofGags]

 For me The Chain *is* Formula 1 and Hesh used the correct word - iconic.

    ^^^ This 

[PapaofGags]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/4366/...ure-of-f1/

Liberty Media's huge losses - what does it mean for future of F1?

Formula 1 owners Liberty Media have been keen to stress their commitment towards growing the sport, despite posting alarming losses of $110million for the year 2018, as they struggle to properly grow revenue since its acquisition from Bernie Ecclestone at the end of 2016.

CEO Chasey Carey appeared relaxed about the figures in a conference call to investors, stating that the losses were expected and due to a number of factors, including growing digital operations, development costs for F2 and F3, and increased logistics and travel costs.

But Liberty's continued growing pains since taking over have wider ramifications for the future of F1 - and fans should be concerned as to what comes next.

[PapaofGags]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/141854...need-deals

The Mexican Grand Prix organisers say they have missed a deadline for provisional 2020 Formula 1 calendar inclusion, at a time when five races are in doubt for next year.

The event recently lost its central government support, while the contracts of the F1 races in Spain, Britain, Germany and Italy all expire this season, and no new agreements have been signed. None of them is therefore guaranteed a place on next year's schedule at present.

F1 CEO Chase Carey has downplayed the ongoing question marks over the unsigned deals.

[Jody Barton]

I think LM are screwing up big time. Their rush to expand digital offerings and pay per view TV deals is causing serious issues for the sport, including teams

[morini]

I think all rational people accept that nothing worthwhile comes for free. Even "back in the day" watching F1 on the TV wasn't really free, it was part of the content covered by the BBC TV licence (which cost money). Thing is, people were used to paying the TV licence fee so considered the stuff they were watching to be "free". The world has moved on, lots of content is now available online yet in the UK we still pay a broadcast TV "licence fee". It is outdated and should be abolished. People could then put that "licence fee" cash towards the subscription services they get most value from.

The BBC will probably die, but if they can't compete in the modern marketplace then tough shit. Times are changing, time to stop paying for stuff we don't want to watch.