30/07/2011
Today, the climes are more akin to what we’d expect of a Hungarian Grand Prix weekend; almost cloudless skies and 24 degrees celsius. Splendid.
Splendid conditions for third practice and qualifying sessions of a Grand Prix weekend. The final Saturday sessions before the August break, the clock ticking loudly towards the last race before the season’s brief interlude.
The ticking has been getting progressively louder as we near the mid-season juncture (well, technically we’re at the halfway point already). And as the ticking has got louder, the sport’s infamy for creating headlines has remained; on this occasion, a controversy over which broadcaster would be showing Formula One in the home of motorsport, the United Kingdom. It was a bombshell that shook the English, the Scottish, the Welsh and the Northern Irish Formula One viewing public to its core. Disappointment has been the general mood amongst much of the sport’s fan base since Bernie announced the news yesterday. How could Sky, a product linked to Rupert Murdoch, be allowed to show all the races next season, especially when News International (Murdoch’s UK newspaper publishing division) has been embroiled in such a recent episode as the phone hacking scandal? It doesn’t need answering, this question is firmly rhetorical.
It is not just the fact that not every F1 race will be broadcast live on BBC, as we had become so accustomed to over the past couple of seasons. It’s not just the fact that the Beeb’s award-winning coverage will be lessened by Sky entering the ring with its own take on the sport (the exact details of the televising is still a little unclear). It’s not just the fact that people are so miffed that they would have to pay for Sky subscription for the privilege of live F1 coverage every race weekend, though this is a highly significant factor.
It is the fact that out of all the possible scenarios of who would take Formula One next season – when rumours that the BBC could not afford to retain the highly-rated coverage were growing louder - it is Sky (yes, Sky) that will enter the fray and, let’s face it, provide some excellent coverage while they are at it.
Just as News Corporation (Murdoch’s global media empire) had its bid to take over a majority shareholding of BskyB removed from the table, Sky itself has risen up and taken what it considers the trump card in sports coverage - Formula One.
It has Premier League football, it has golf, tennis and snooker. You name it, Sky probably has it (except ’listed events’, more of that below). And now, it has the one it wanted - Formula One. It has muscled its way in and, alas, we live in a capitalist economy so we must face up to the reality that sooner or later a subscription satellite television provider was going to bid for this great gem of a product. That happened somewhat sooner than many would have liked.
For those unaware, the United Kingdom has for a long time had what is called Listed Events. This rather quaint, yet much-loved, list of Great British sporting events spells out exactly what fixtures are deemed of national interest and, I quote, ‘a traditional part of the national culture’. The list has lessened over the years, as the likes of Sky have pushed their weight around and waved a tempting cheque in front of sporting bodies who have been faced with increasingly tricky decision-making. These bodies have faced two contrasting options: tradition, on the one hand, with the sport’s powerbrokers determined to keep its product accessible to all; commercial impact on the other, with the temptation that its product could earn much greater sums by offering itself to a satellite broadcaster such as Sky Sports. Where do your loyalties lie?
Well, it may be a surprise to some, but despite the fact that we would like to consider Formula One a part of the United Kingdom’s national culture, it is not in fact a listed event. Wimbledon, The Open Golf Championship, The Grand National, the FA Cup Final and the Olympic Games are all among those listed but Formula One is not, and so we cannot always expect it to remain on the Beeb (sad as this may seem).
Unless the sport is afforded that level of protection, we should not expect it to remain on free-to-air TV. That is the reality.
Credit: Lotus Renault GP (www.lotusrenaultgp.com)
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