Looks I like won't be watching all of F1 on television next year. As many of you will know, the BBC did a deal with Sky to show F1 next year, resulting in the BBC only showing 10 races live. Even though I am living with my parents at the moment, who have a subscription to Sky and Sky Sports, I will not be watching F1 on Sky in protest at this deal.
My understanding of the deal is that the BBC did this to save on cost. However in doing this deal they have not listened to the fans of F1 who are not happy with this deal, as they loose the chance to watch a great sport on TV. I believe that if the BBC could not afford to show all F1 races live next year, then they should have given way to another free to air broadcaster (to allow all the British F1 fans to have the chance to watch F1), and from what I have read on-line I understand that Channel 4 was interested in showing the F1 season. I think that Channel 4 should have been given the rights to broadcast F1, rather than the BBC / Sky, in order to keep all the races on free to air television - something which I understand is a priority for Bernie Ecclestone. I suspect that one of the reasons the BBC decided to try and keep F1 on their channels is because of the really good viewing figures this year.
Hopefully rather than a highlights package next year, for the races that the BBC is not covering live, they show a full re-run of the race, as watching highlights is not the same as a full race - in a full race you get to see the strategies unfold etc.
I understand that a Government committee might be looking at the deal. Hopefully if they do decide to look at the deal they will decide that the deal is not in the best interests of UK TV Licence Fee payers, and that every F1 race should be live on free to air television. Perhaps it's time that F1 was added to the list of sporting events that have to be shown live on TV.
Eventually though, I suppose the time will come when F1 is not shown live at all on Free To Air TV, as I suspect if Sky does well with F1 coverage it will want to show it exclusively, and when the contract comes up for renwal, try and make sure that no Free To Air broadcaster is allowed to show it as well.