I know not many people in power in F1 care about the fans but a drop in viewing figures will ultimately hurt profits (even if they are milking the fewer for more money). Eventually those in power may start to 'think' of the fans wallets, I mean wishes and we may get F1 back. I imagine the F1 package was a minimum of 12 months thing so for all we know it could slump further next year.
So if sky drop it, Who will pick up the races the beeb don't have? It won't be the beeb themselves, the sports boss is a woman, and women put in positions of power do stupid things (see Thatcher)
Probably, but to be fair we'd then have to do it for every election Plus our accuracy would lead to conspiracy theories, bribes and then keyboard hackings. Its not a good road.
Don't forget the Germans, the Italians, the rest of Europe, the Tories the lib dems, the damn green party.......(goes on for 10 minutes)........ Michael Schumacher, Pastor Maldonado, Wayne Rooney, John Terry, Arsen Wenger.....(30 minutes later) Steve Redgrave, my mum, my dad.......I think that's everybody I can think of to blame!
If Obama doesn't win me and my old man are building a nuclear bunker in our back garden as I don't trust Romney and his Bush gene.
Am I correct in saying that the BBC's deal to show F1 in any form expires at the end of next season? Or is it 2014? The point I'm trying to make is that the BBC had to spend a sum on programming this season that is much larger than usual. Even forgetting about the Olympics (24 extra HD channels, in addition to beating out Sky and ITV to the rights), the Euros and of course the ever-popular Voice were all brought in this year. Assuming that the BBC have no intentions of repeating the extent of their Olympics coverage for 2016 (as it's not in Britain and therefore not interesting) and that the ever-decreasing audience figures of The Voice make a commission beyond the second series unlikely, we could, just could, see the BBC reclaim the rights from Sky. At the very least they should go back to fully free-to-air if 1m viewers for each race does not cancel out the costs of running a 24/7 F1 channel and does not give the boost in subscriptions Murdoch wanted - which at the moment you have to say it doesn't seem to have done.
As I understand it, the BBC's rights to F1 were superceded and therefore extended by the new contract, which runs to 2018, so F1 will continue under the current arrangements until then unless there are contract renegotiations. Bear in mind that viewing figures are officially inconsequential to Sky because their funding comes mainly from subscriptions. If the figures drop so low that advertising is no longer worthwhile, they'll just cut the operating budget. I doubt that funding the deal depends on advertising - that's just profit for Sky. 21.6% might be lower than hoped for but I wouldn't imagine Sky expecting above, say, 33% even in the most favourable circumstances (like their coverage was better quality than the BBC's and therefore preferred by viewers).
What do you suppose, on grounds of taste, propriety and decency, would be the minimum waiting time between resigning as an MP on the grounds of maintaining a family life and having your first column printed in the New York Post?
Go on, Genji: tell us! My guess would be woeful; but if it's who I think you're referring to, that self-publicising creep is, in my opinion, a nine-bob note…
I would say about twenty-five years, to be on the safe side. Anything less and I should think it likely that one's position on the findings of, say, a Commons Culture Committee report might be called into question.
