BBC Sport F1 was the British Broadcasting Corporation's Formula One coverage for the United Kingdom. It aired half the races live on television and all the races live on the radio. Extended highlights were shown for the races it did not air on television live. In seasons with an odd number of races, the number of races aired is rounded down (i.e. nine races in a nineteen race season). On 21 December 2015, the BBC confirmed that they had ended their six-year deal with Sky Sports F1 early, giving the television rights to Channel 4, although BBC Radio 5 Live will still broadcast Formula One races until 2024.[1][2]
History[]
2009–2011[]
In March 2008, ITV announced the coverage would be transferred to the BBC from the 2009 season to allow ITV to focus on its UEFA Champions League football coverage. The BBC would air all races Live on BBC One with BBC Two being used if clashes occurred. Practice sessions were aired on BBC Red Button with commentary provided from BBC Radio 5 Live. Highlights of the races on BBC Three at 7:00pm on Sunday evenings (except for races such as Brazil and Canada, where later start times meant the highlights were aired late at night or Australia, Japan or Malaysia which were shown late Sunday afternoon on BBC One or BBC Two). BBC used the ending of Fleetword Mac's "The Chain" for the intro.[3]
Lee McKenzie made her debut as the main presenter at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix however the qualifying was postponed until Sunday morning, resulting in the qualifying highlights being scrapped on Saturday afternoon.She remarked when facing a similar situation in 2019 for Channel 4 F1 podcast, 'I was grabbing people to fill air time', before the session was postponed on Friday night.
The 2010 Korean Grand Prix had a delay of the start by 10 minutes, then a red flag stoppage after three laps which lasted 45 minutes both in rain. That resulted in coverage initially delaying The Andrew Marr Show which was scheduled at 9:15am, before the rest of the race was moved from BBC One to BBC Two at 9:30am. This channel switch resulted in 273 viewers complaining that they had set their PVRs to record the race but had missed out on its climax, when most of the exciting incidents occurred. BBC spokesman said to The Guardian "Sunday's Korean Grand Prix was delayed due to extreme weather. The subsequent disruption to the schedule was flagged up to the audience throughout via the commentary and was also made clear again just prior to switching the coverage to BBC Two. However, the BBC also has a responsibility to reflect a wide range of interests and therefore the decision was taken to switch the F1 coverage to BBC Two until its conclusion."
The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix saw a red flag that lasted 120 minutes, that resulted in coverage initially cancelling Antiques Roadshow which was scheduled to air at 8:00pm before coverage of the Grand Prix switched to BBC Two and BBC HD at 9:00pm, that resulted in 700 fans complaining about the cancellation of Antiques Roadshow in favour of the Grand Prix.
2012–2015[]
In July 2011, BBC announced that half their races would be live from 2012 and got a contract to 2018 with Sky Sports covering all races. Martin Brundle and Ted Kravitz left BBC for Sky at the end of 2011 and were replaced by Ben Edwards as lead commentator and former Jordan designer Gary Anderson joining as reporter and technical analyst. Jake Humphrey continued to host, Eddie Jordan analysed on live races and David Coulthard stayed as colour commentator. Humphrey was forced to skip Canada and Europe due to him hosting Euro 2012 for BBC's Match of the Day and skipped Germany and Hungary due to him hosting the 2012 Olympics for BBC. Lee McKenzie filled in for him at these races and her role was taken by Tom Clarkson. Humphrey left at the end of 2012 to join BT Sport and was replaced by Suzi Perry. Allan McNish joined as analyst and Clarkson joined full time. BBC aired all three practice session for their live races on BBC Two or BBC Three. Anderson left at the end of 2013. The BBC kept their remaining staff for 2014 and 2015.
Grand Prix axed[]
In late 2015, BBC wanted a budget cut of £21 million to the sports department. In December 2015, BBC axed Grand Prix as part of their budget cuts and was replaced by Channel 4 from 2016. Coulthard, Jordan, Edwards and McKenzie all joined Channel 4 F1 in the same roles.
Commentary Line-Up[]
| Role | Name | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Anchor | ||
| Jake Humphrey | 2009–2012 | |
| Suzi Perry | 2013–2015 | |
| David Coulthard | 2014–2015 (Highlight races only) | |
| Pundit | David Coulthard | 2009–2015 |
| Eddie Jordan | 2009–2015 (Live races only) | |
| Allan McNish | 2014–2015 | |
| Pit Lane Reporter | ||
| Ted Kravitz | 2009–2011 | |
| Gary Anderson | 2012–2013 | |
| Tom Clarkson | 2013–2015 | |
| Paddock Reporter | Lee McKenzie | 2009–2015 |
| Lead Commentator | ||
| Jonathan Legard | 2009–2010 | |
| Martin Brundle | 2011 | |
| Ben Edwards | 2012–2015 | |
| Co-Commentator | ||
| Martin Brundle | 2009–2010 | |
| David Coulthard | 2011–2015 | |
| Analyst | Allan McNish | 2014–2015 |
See also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ "BBC to end Formula 1 television contract early". BBC News. 21 December 2015. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35149963. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ https://www.sportindustry.biz/news/bbc-secures-uk-radio-rights-f1
- ↑ "BBC unveils 2009 F1 coverage – and return of The Chain". crash.net. 24 February 2009. Archived from the original on 12 February 2016. http://web.archive.org/web/20090226234808/http://www.crash.net/Formula+One/News/143325/1/bbc_unveils_2009_f1_coverage__and_return_of_the_chain.html. Retrieved 12 February 2016.