planetf1.com

I thought it was a disaster when the sky deal was announced but things move on and I really like the C4 coverage. Not being able to watch live has been a surprisingly easy transition. I thought I would miss Brundle (or at least the DC/Brundle team), but turns out I don’t.

For me weekend afternoons are the absolute best part of the week, so not spending that time in front of the TV has been such a positive thing that I don’t think I’d go back to the old way of viewing even if it were available to me.

Does anyone else find that despite paying for Sky, they never end up watching anything but qualifying and the races? While also skipping out the coverage before both too... I started following F1 to the point where I would watch F1 every race and every practice session if i could from 2014 onwards. When it was on the BBC and live on Channel 4, I would always watch all of this and the full program if I could.

But now, despite having paid nearly £200 for the sky 9 months deal, I find myself skipping everything other than 5 minutes before the race and qualifying starts. It isn't the action on track that i am finding boring or anything, it is down the the simply awful presentation from sky and certain particular members of the team. Crofty being the worst and in my case closely followed by Kravitz (although i can understand why some may like him). But he was actually a good presenter when he was on the BBC. He seems to have got infected by crofty with his stupid and painful jokes that i find him really tedious. Especially when they both discuss unrelated rubbish at length during coverage!

I really am thinking to myself that I may not bother watching F1 live next year. The Channel 4 highlights was more enjoyable to watch and showed most of what I felt I needed to see. The only disadvantage being as I said, less coverage and it isn't live. But man are the commentators and team as a whole so much better. I record and keep every channel 4 race and flick through it to get a different point of view in the race and qualifying to what sky have given, and they certainly seem more focussed to what is happening. And if Ben Edwards makes a mistake, he will apologise. Not interrupt like Crofty only to talk about unrelated rubbish.


It is a real shame, but I really do feel like it is because of sky that I am loosing interest in wanting to watch as much of the coverage. Despite paying, I find myself far less bothered about missing a weekend, maybe because I know the Channel 4 coverage will be better later on.

Unless the Sky coverage price drops significantly, I feel I may not get the deal for 9 months next year. I may just buy the occasional race weekend pass. It really doesn't feel worth the price I paid given how irritated i get every time I watch any session.

Slightly off-topic but has anyone watched Amazon Prime's UK football coverage this week? I have to say I was very impressed.

Some highlights for me:
- 4K streaming
- Ability to switch off commentary (I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did)
- Split-screen stats
- Viewing on multiple devices (three I believe)

As much I want it back, I'm enough of a realist to know that FTA coverage is dead. But once the Sky deal with F1 ends, Liberty should seriously consider switching to Amazon. Imagine being able to watch the main feed on your TV, an on-board on your tablet and the timing screen on your phone.