uk f1 tv coverage - sky, bbc and ch4

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Who, Humphrey?

He has trouble controlling smirks at any time.

This is true.

Odd that he is commenting on F1 as well. I thought he had gone off it since he went to BT. Strange that.

[henners88]

Did he go off football when he presented F1 for the BBC? I've never understood the dislike for Jake.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by davyboy

He'd be pretty sad if he resorted to that in public...

It depends how it was done. If it was done just for fun but made those with, er, shall we say, lower than average perception levels launch into an outrageous rant then I would be for it. Head shrapnel everywhere.

[henners88]

I don't think it would be wise for Mark to start slagging off Seb and Red Bull and I don't think he would in any case. He is still on the Red Bull payroll and is still good friends with Dietrich we have to remember. Its not good to make enemies in the paddock either as its sometimes nice to get an interview or two. I just hope he is not too biased in favour of all things Red Bull as we often see DC unable to give an impartial analysis when Red Bull are involved.

If only he would say something juicy though.

[Paradise City]

I'm sure Webber's face will scrunch up into a raging grimace and he'll hiss, nay, spit out, the name "Sebestan Vettel!!" in a shriek of disgust, whenever the subject comes up. Suzy Perry may have to be quick on her feet to dodge the thunder bolts of venomous bile that's ejected from Mark's mouth, that's all I can say.

It is a fair coup for the BBC after the Anderson debacle. I'm not sure it's a move that sways me much though.

[davyboy]

Aunty Beeb told us that in order to retain the original live F1 package, BBC3 would have to be axed. "Oh no !" we cried... "Please don't cull a station for the sake of a few live GPs. We can live with the highlights only." Alright my dears, I'll do that so.


... Ha ha ha ha ha ha...*

* Wicked villainous laugh.

[Adam43]

It was a choice between F1 live and BBC three. I didn't know that.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Adam43

It was a choice between F1 live and BBC three. I didn't know that.

Does anyone actually watch BBC 3?

[wolfhound]

Originally Posted by Adam43

It was a choice between F1 live and BBC three. I didn't know that.

It just gives you an indication of how much Bernie charges the TV stations.

[Adam43]

I had more of an idea what that was than the cost of BBC three.

[Paradise City]

Toilet humour is on BBC 3 and teenagers overdoing the sauce on the few occasions I've looked in. I presume there is some good programming on BBC 3 that I've missed and if so I'm sure Stephen Fry could a make a little bit of room for that over on BBC 2. £90 million for toilet humour is something that can be flushed

[fourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Does anyone actually watch BBC 3?

A little, but I am very choosy about what I watch, I choose programs to watch, I couldn't care less what channel it's on and sometimes it happens to be BBC3.

Of course I only watch it on iPlayer, I can't recall ever putting it on live, which is curious considering the context in which this came up.

[bella]

i tend to watch bbc3 programming on the iplayer at a later date, so moving it off the telly frequencies won't affect me at all.

bbc4 does some seriously great stuff though - some of the storyville films are utterly beautiful.

i'd like to think there'd still be room for creativity after they've taken bbc3 off air, and fringe and experimental content will still be created.

[henners88]

Surprisingly BBC 3 is very popular regardless of whether some people feel it is filled with toilet humour or not. They get enough flack for charging households a license fee, but this carries a burden or a duty to appeal to a wider audience. BBC 3 appeals to younger people and although it makes the oldies cringe, the fact is a fair chunk of license fee payers are of the younger generation too. I certainly watch more hours of BBC 3 programming a month than I do of Formula One, so really BBC 3 is better value for money. I wouldn't want to lose F1 though and it would disastrous for the fans and the sports popularity if it was scrapped. People seem to underestimate how important the BBC's coverage of F1 is in this country and without it, F1 really wouldn't be worth mentioning on the news.

On to Webber again. I don't think he will grimace every time Vettel needs mentioning. He was his team mate for years and knows him pretty well. He also knows on his day he's beaten Seb so he need not lose any face over it. I think Mark will be a great contributor and I'm glad he has continued his relationship with the BBC. Having lost Anderson I feel the coverage has lost a little insight, but with McNish and Webber contributing, its still a very strong team. I'm surprised Sky haven't announced any changes with their line up for 2014.

[henners88]

Originally Posted by henners88

I'm surprised Sky haven't announced any changes with their line up for 2014.

Sky must have listened to me as they've just announced Bruno Senna is joining them for 2014. There will be some celebrations about that no doubt.

[wolfhound]

Originally Posted by henners88

Sky must have listened to me as they've just announced Bruno Senna is joining them for 2014. There will be some celebrations about that no doubt.

Not quite the same as a driver with 12 years experience and part of multi championship winning outfit.

[p-matt]

I don't know. I'd much rather listen to the eloquence of Bruno Senna about the action over the course of a race weekend rather than a few barbed snippets about the career of a driver that got more opportunities than he still probably realises and continually played the victim to elicit public sympathy.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by p-matt

I don't know. I'd much rather listen to the eloquence of Bruno Senna about the action over the course of a race weekend rather than a few barbed snippets about the career of a driver that got more opportunities than he still probably realises and continually played the victim to elicit public sympathy.

Exactly. He was sat in a world championship winning car for the past four years and was not only comprehensively outclassed... he couldn't even manage the runner up spot. I'd have so much more respect for him if he acknowledged the opportunities he had and that in the end he was beaten by the better guy.

... still if he uses the BBC as a platform to vent his spleen [which I hope he doesn't], I feel sorry for him... and I think the general public will see it for what it is.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by davyboy

... still if he uses the BBC as a platform to vent his spleen [which I hope he doesn't], I feel sorry for him... and I think the general public will see it for what it is.

Yes, but... he was increasingly treated like something nasty on the soul of your shoe. Whether that was down to internal politics or him getting on the management's nerves I don't know, but those who find themselves in the secondary position in a team quite often get shirty and speak out if they are repeatedly getting panned as we know well.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Yes, but... he was increasingly treated like something nasty on the soul of your shoe. Whether that was down to internal politics or him getting on the management's nerves I don't know, but those who find themselves in the secondary position in a team quite often get shirty and speak out if they are repeatedly getting panned as we know well.

I'm not sure that any of us know how he was actually treated there. The team claim that he was given equal equipment and support, he claims he wasn't. All we know is that he was in a great car, paid a huge amount of money, retained year after year and relentlessly beaten.

[VIVA GT]

Personally, although I do appreciate the input of ex-drivers, and enjoy hearing their perceptive on things, I don't think that we need three of them (Coulthard, McNish & Webber), and would have preferred the technical insight of Gary Anderson instead of one (or two) of these guys instead...

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Personally, although I do appreciate the input of ex-drivers, and enjoy hearing their perceptive on things, I don't think that we need three of them (Coulthard, McNish & Webber), and would have preferred the technical insight of Gary Anderson instead of one (or two) of these guys instead...

Totally agree. The problem [and it is a problem] with F1 right now is that it is way too complicated from an [irrelevant] technical perspective. Even the enthusiast needs 'interpretation', let alone the casual viewer. Gary Anderson was fantastic at this and is a big loss in my opinion.

[bella]

Originally Posted by p-matt

I don't know. I'd much rather listen to the eloquence of Bruno Senna about the action over the course of a race weekend rather than a few barbed snippets about the career of a driver that got more opportunities than he still probably realises and continually played the victim to elicit public sympathy.

this is how i feel too, but i'm really biased. bruno is a genuinely good guy who can speak incredibly well about the sport. he's "one of us" in that his entire life hasn't been built around being sat in a racing car, he grew up away from it and started late. webber's on the other end of the scale, he makes me uncomfortable and i find his way of expressing himself to be quite immature and stroppy despite his considerable experience and wisdom - hallmark of someone who's been in the goldfish bowl of motorsport for a long time. perhaps now it's no longer his problem to deal with he'll be much more relaxed and interesting to listen to.

imo, anyway

[henners88]

Originally Posted by p-matt

I don't know. I'd much rather listen to the eloquence of Bruno Senna about the action over the course of a race weekend rather than a few barbed snippets about the career of a driver that got more opportunities than he still probably realises and continually played the victim to elicit public sympathy.

Yeah because we got a great insight into the inner workings of Mark's in team relationship by just watching the TV lol. You've based your entire opinion on 'barbed snippets' it seems, yet its only welcome when it suits I see

[henners88]

Originally Posted by davyboy

I'm not sure that any of us know how he was actually treated there. The team claim that he was given equal equipment and support, he claims he wasn't. All we know is that he was in a great car, paid a huge amount of money, retained year after year and relentlessly beaten.

I could just imagine if Oscar Pistorius is judged in the same way you have judged Webber here. In any analysis we need to look for depth rather than simplified facts. I don't want to go down the route of judging a drivers ability based on his wikipedia stats just yet.