Sky F1
| Sky Sports F1 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 9 March 2012 |
| Owned by | Sky plc |
| Picture format |
16:9, 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) 4K (UHDTV) |
| Audience share | 0.15% (June 2017, BARB) |
| Slogan | Your Home of Formula 1 |
| Country | United Kingdom, Ireland |
| Sister channel(s) |
Challenge, Pick, Real Lives, Sky One, Sky Two, Sky Arts, Sky Atlantic, Sky Box Office, Sky Cinema, Sky Living, Sky News, Sky Sports, Sky Sports News |
| Website | skysports |
|
Availability
|
|
| Satellite | |
| Sky | Channel 406 (SD/HD) Channel 472 (SD) On Demand |
| Cable | |
|
Virgin Media (UK) |
Channel 506 (HD) Channel 516 Sky Anytime |
| IPTV | |
| TalkTalk TV | Channel 407 |
| Streaming media | |
| Sky Go |
Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
| Virgin TV Anywhere | Watch live (UK only) |
| Now TV | Watch live (UK only) |
Sky Sports F1 is a television channel created exclusively for Sky's UK and Ireland coverage of Formula One, with Sky having a package of rights from the 2012 season to the 2024 season. From 2019 to 2024, Sky Sports F1 will have the exclusive rights to broadcast Formula 1 live in the UK and Ireland, and will sub-licence the British Grand Prix and two other races plus highlights and qualifying sessions of all races on a free-to-air basis. Since 2017, Sky Sports F1 has broadcast Formula 1 in 4K UHD.
The BBC initially had exclusive UK rights from 2009 until the end of the 2013 season, having regained the rights from ITV. However, because of the licence fee freeze and resultant review of cost constraints, it was believed that the BBC were to leave F1 after the 2011 season.
A new broadcast rights deal was announced on 29 July 2011, stating that Sky Sports would cover all races live, (half of which would be exclusively live). Both Sky and the BBC would cover the remaining races live including the British Grand Prix and final race. It also allowed the BBC to show highlights of all races, (including the other races that they did not have live rights to cover).
Subsequently on 21 December 2015, it was announced that the BBC would be ending their broadcast rights three seasons early after the 2015 season with the free to air rights to 10 live races and highlights of all 21 races going to Channel 4. However, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra would continue to broadcast live commentary of the whole season, including practice, qualifying and the races until the 2021 season.
Prior to the launch of the channel, there was some controversy about switching Formula One coverage at least in part to pay television, as the BBC brought Sky into the discussions a few days before the deal was announced, despite reported interest from Channel 4. However, since its launch, similar channels have launched in Germany and Italy (to name but two) and had seen further moves towards a pay TV/free-to-air coverage mix by FOM (the Formula 1 rights holder).
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Wikipedia