Martin Brundle could join Sky in 2012
The agreement between the BBC and Sky, which means that the public broadcaster will only show half of the races from next year, may lead to the departure of its star commentator, Martin Brundle. He has reportedly received a one million pound offer to move to Rupert Murdoch's pay channel.
Contrary to what some British newspapers reported, the said contract has not yet been signed since the interested party declared on his Twitter profile: « Telegraph was wrong. I did not sign the one-million-pound Sky contract today. I am working on it calmly and will conclude with what satisfies me the most professionally. » However, he did confirm last Friday through the same media that he had received an offer from the two British channels: « Yes, I received an offer from the BBC and Sky. Yes, I will commentate on F1 next year. »
It will also be interesting to see what decision the rest of the British public television commentator team will make: will they follow their current leader to the competition or will they prefer to fill the vacant spot, even if it means only being live for half of the races?
But what is even more interesting in the announcement article by the Telegraph is reading the comments from British fans. They still haven’t gotten over having to pay to watch the entire championship. Resistance to the project is being prepared, and those involved are exchanging useful information. Many of them already claim that they will buy a satellite dish to get the cheapest possible satellite package, allowing access to foreign channels.
Obviously, TF1 is not among the channels mentioned for watching races in the best conditions (the last Rugby World Cup or the Canadian Grand Prix clearly showed what the French channel’s priorities are). On the other hand, a fan outright recommended RTL recruit two English-speaking commentators to cater to the new audience it would receive! It must be said that the German channel smartly keeps the race in a small window during commercial breaks, allowing viewers to continue following the on-track action while also allowing the channel to monetize its investment.
The reactions of British viewers clearly show the strong dissatisfaction that can be caused by broadcasting television on a pay channel and confirms that Bernie Ecclestone’s choice to air only on free channels was the right lever to maximize audience and thus the return on investment for sponsors. Let’s hope the lesson is learned and the current model is maintained…
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
