Sky -v- BBC (F1 Coverage)

Hogzy

What are people thinking of the Sky commentary this season?

Ill admit that i havnt been big on F1 up until the last 2 seasons. So i dont fully understand some of the technology involved. I like how Sky show alot of demonstrations of how the cars actually work.
However im not a big fan of Georgie thompson. The only reason she is there is for a bit of T'n'A. (Im not saying i dont enjoy watching here though )

When it comes to BBC coverage. I think Jordan, Coulthard and Humphrey are much more entertaining than the Sky crowd. They seem to be good friends so have no problem taking the mick out of each other which is always fun to watch. I just wish BBC had had maybe a segment dedicated to explaining how F1 cars work like they do on Sky.

I also miss Martin Brundle walking the grid on BBC

So what do you guys prefer?

decisions

Overall Sky, but the beeb have their strong points as you mentioned.

lord lucan

I've stuck with Sky for the first 3 races. Their coverage has been getting progressively better as the new team gel. Having Brundle effectively anchoring the show has made it easier for them to find their feet.

I'm not a fan of the segments with Georgie Thompson. I appreciate there'll always be new fans to F1 who'll enjoy the technical stuff explained but i find it boring tbh and a chance to show off some glossy hardware in the form of ipads and HD screens.

One more pet peeve,Croft is far too excitable,particularly when Button or Hamilton are involved. It sounds almost artificial and put on. He practically crapped himself when Hamilton passed Vettel in the closing stages.

Dravokivich

With BBC having reduced coverage this season, it doesn't make sense for them to do all them indepth pieces about the technology behind F1 and what the drivers are thinking in various situations.

Brundle did quite a few and Coulthard 1 or 2 with the BBC last year (as far as I can recall). So for Sky, it sounds just more of the same but a bit pumped up, as they are a premium channel.

Don't have Sky myself and found it a bit bewildering watching the first 2 races on Setanta where it just cuts into the start.

Got so used to the build up by BBC

recyclebin

I have found the coverage on sky to be very sterile. That big touch screen is a gimmick and really annoys me.

BBC is a lot more fun especially after the race where they usually have a laugh.

The race commentary isn't as good on the BBC though.

I think I will be watching the BBC when they show live races even though I have both channels. I think it's a matter of sticking with what I know.

G-Money

Saw a tweet earlier, for the live race yesterday, BBC had 4.1m viewers at it's peak, where Sky had 0.85m viewers.

It's weird, I missed the BBC a lot at the start but now I've almost forgotten about it

Max_Charger

I'm not sure if its his microphone or what but does anyone else find that Ben Edwards is trying to talk while under a foot of water? I find it very irritating.

For the pre and post race it has to be the beeb,but for the race commentary itself it has to be sky. Brundle is the difference. I wont have a bad word said about Georgie though

Myrddin

Originally I was going to follow wherever Brundle was going...but looking directly at the two presentations...it's the BBC all the way. Sky is so plastic/flashy/bull I just can't sit through it.

Give me Eddy & Jake any day

marco2068

I also like gary andersons input, great to have a guy thats actually done it all before and who knows what their talking about.

cherryghost

BBC for pre and post coverage, Sky for the race coverage.

Myrddin

cherryghost wrote: »

BBC for pre and post coverage, Sky for the race coverage.

Given that Sky have dedicated a whole channel to F1, it's a bit telling that the FTA BBC boys have a more watchable showing. Sky is too sterile & up its own ass I find, with everything they do really.

Believe in better? Oh shut up & relax

cherryghost

EnterNow wrote: »

Given that Sky have dedicated a whole channel to F1, it's a bit telling that the FTA BBC boys have a more watchable showing. Sky is too sterile & up its own ass I find, with everything they do really.

Believe in better? Oh shut up & relax

Without Brundle I wouldn't even bother watching it. I mean come on, Davidson looks like a complete tool up there doing analysis with that blonde bimbo. It's just so dull!

And don't get me started with Damon hill. It's like watching a towel present the late late show... IT CANT.

flyswatter

I think Sky dedicating a whole channel to F1 reeks of self important nonsense.

hotwhiskey

Sky is doing a good job i believe with just three races gone, ok it needs a few touch ups here and there and they will get better as they season goes on.

I watched the BBC for a while on Sunday and Coulthard is next to hopeless in they commentary box. But overall i like the BBC there presentation and they boldness of Eddie.

I have been watching F1 over 27 years and back then the BBC would only show the race and be on air 15 min's before it starts with Steve Ryder in the studio. If you wanted to see qualifying back then you might get a 5 min clip on Saturday Grandstand at ten past 1 or 2 with Murray Walker giving a run down on events this went on into the 90's with most races, Snooker was giving more air time back then which was unbelievable. So really over the last 15+ years we have been blessed with the amount of coverage is now giving to f1.

Its just a pity BBC dont have all the races.

Cookie_Monster

SKy NZ use the BBC feed but only cut in with 5 mins to start, no preshow etc despite Sky UK doing it all, go figure.

Any angry email to them got the line " that's what we bid for and received":rolleyes:

smellslikeshoes

Last year with BBC I used to watch the full build up and post race but now with sky I just don't bother. There really was something more organic about bbc's pre and post race. The one thing I do like about Sky this year is Croft compared to Coulthard but that's about it.

Pretty glad I don't pay for it and just stream it :pac:

Jordan 199

recyclebin wrote: »

That big touch screen is a gimmick and really annoys me.

I agree. I think that segment in Sky's F1 coverage is pointless.

I have to say I really enjoyed the F1 forum on the BBC yesterday. And as for Gary Anderson, he is brilliant with his technical analysis. A worthy asset to the BBC F1 team.

Dravokivich

flyswatter wrote: »

I think Sky dedicating a whole channel to F1 reeks of self important nonsense.

I recon it's because they wouldn't of had any slots avail on their other channels to be able to broadcast it. Considering Sundays are big for soccer.

flyswatter

Dravokivich wrote: »

flyswatter wrote: »

I think Sky dedicating a whole channel to F1 reeks of self important nonsense.

I recon it's because they wouldn't of had any slots avail on their other channels to be able to broadcast it. Considering Sundays are big for soccer.

Don't buy that. They have what , 4 channels? 1 of which shows football on Sunday.

Dravokivich

flyswatter wrote: »

Don't buy that. They have what , 4 channels? 1 of which shows football on Sunday.

2 channels show football on Sundays on the same slot that'll be needed for most F1 races, SS1 and SS4. The others also show various tennis and golf tournements, with Rugby as a feature as well depending on the time of the season.

It's much easier to run F1 on it's own channel to avoid having to re-arrange broadcasts for other events that already have an audience. Although it may of made more sense to try and market it as a general motorsports channel.

De Hipster

marco2068 wrote: »

I also like gary andersons input, great to have a guy thats actually done it all before and who knows what their talking about.

I am delighted to have Gary Anderson on the beeb, really interesting and grounded guy who presents the most intricate technical information in laymans terms. Great addition!

PJTierney

Sky for live commentary.
BBC for everything else.

PJTierney

recyclebin wrote: »

That big touch screen is a gimmick and really annoys me.

It's just a regular iPhone, Anthony and GT are really that small.

-gilly-09-

Taking the Chinese GP as an example I watch the build up and the very small after race analysis on BBC. Its a no contest for the race coverage, Sky wins hands down. The commentators and Ted Kravitz in the pits are quality. I do like DC but the other chap does my head in.

SKY are getting better and better. Just cant stand your man that is meant to be Jake.

Tea 1000

De Hipster wrote: »

I am delighted to have Gary Anderson on the beeb, really interesting and grounded guy who presents the most intricate technical information in laymans terms. Great addition!

Gary is brilliant for the technical analysis, but he's the wrong man to replace Ted Kravitz in the pits. Ted was excellent, he had lots of information on what was going on, and delivered it clearly, concisely and quickly and always was aware of team radio interruptions etc. They should have someone like that in the pits for that sort of news, and Gary for all the analysis, or some mid-race update on what the Ted replacement has found out.
I should get to watch the Sky coverage this weekend, then I'll know, but to be honest, I've been pleasantly surprised by the Beeb's coverage this year, I was expecting it to be a bit of a shell of it's former self.

Autosport

For myself I love that there is a channel dedicated to the sport I love. I do miss Eddie's shirts though but Sky are doing a great job and I actually like Anthony in the Sky pad but Georgie is no Lee Mackenzie.

Infoanon

As a complete package BBC is superior, Martin Brundles commentary and strategy explanation is Sky's only strength imho.

Gary Anderson is very good on BBC and the Jake and Eddie show is always entertaining.

On interactive BBC has the Car tracker which Sky does not.

icdg

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

SKy NZ use the BBC feed but only cut in with 5 mins to start, no preshow etc despite Sky UK doing it all, go figure.

Any angry email to them got the line " that's what we bid for and received":rolleyes:

Sky NZ and BSkyB are two completely different companies, News Corporation has a stake in both now (but didn't originally in Sky NZ), but they've very little operational connection and Sky NZ's origins are quite different to BSkyB's. BSkyB has over ten million subscribers, Sky NZ has about 800,000 - a huge difference in what they can afford.

Anyway you don't need to go to New Zealand to see coverage of that calibre - what you described is exactly what Setanta do.

Cookie_Monster

icdg wrote: »

Sky NZ and BSkyB are two completely different companies, News Corporation has a stake in both now (but didn't originally in Sky NZ), but they've very little operational connection and Sky NZ's origins are quite different to BSkyB's. BSkyB has over ten million subscribers, Sky NZ has about 800,000 - a huge difference in what they can afford.

Funny how they can afford to show every single rugby match that happens anywhere though :pac:
TBH they're both called Sky and both owned by the same company, reason enough to share resources and broadcasting IMO.

Slutmonkey57b

Jordan 191 wrote: »

I agree. I think that segment in Sky's F1 coverage is pointless.

I have to say I really enjoyed the F1 forum on the BBC yesterday. And as for Gary Anderson, he is brilliant with his technical analysis. A worthy asset to the BBC F1 team.

What technical analysis? They sent him all the way to Brixworth to ask "Is this standard ECU a standard unit?" and "What's that box there?". The first show, he worked out the tyre strategy for them, with timing differences, and they didn't bother explaining how he came to his conclusions.

Farcical waste. Mind you, anyone following @scarbsf1 on twitter is spoiled for tech analysis by comparison.

the culture of deference

the sky host is useless, he should shut up more and listen, they are too flashy with pointless cuts and edits. skybox is a waste of time.

chemistry between eddie DC and jake is fantastic, DC has great access with drivers and teams. DC is a great commentator and funny, Gary is an expert, ted is excellent,

however MB is excellent too, as is natalie.

v3ttel

I prefer the BBCs coverage.

Jake, Eddie & Coulthard are an excellent team. Each of them add something unique, can talk intelligently about F1, and have a bit of a laugh also.

I do miss having Brundle on BBC, his grid walks are excellent, and I much prefer him as the first commentator rather than the second as he seems to be now.

Not too pushed about Edwards or Croft as the main commentators. Neither are as good as Brundle is.

I always like how Ted Kravitz was always on the ball for team radio. That's something that Gary Anderson & Edwards could do better on, when there is team radio, STFU for a second. Lee McKenzie & Natalie Pinkham are both very good.

The BBC's team last season was absolutely perfect. It's just a shame it's now split over two channels. The role of Georgie Thompson on racedays seems completely pointless, apart from to look nice in the ocassional 30 second segment.

When I have the option to watch the BBC's coverage, I will.

the culture of deference

Rooney10 wrote: »

Not too pushed about Edwards or Croft as the main commentators.

One of them sounds very like an interesting animated damon hill

Charlie-Bravo

the culture of deference wrote: »

skybox is a waste of time.
.

haven't watched much of the Sky coverage, but seriously, do they call it a 'sky box'? Now let me think about this, Sky are trying to make you believe both Georgie and Anthony are in the 'sky box' beside the telly! Well they are small enough to fit in there I suppose. :rolleyes:

Jordan 199

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

What technical analysis? They sent him all the way to Brixworth to ask "Is this standard ECU a standard unit?" and "What's that box there?".

What the hell are you on about? Point out to me in the clip below where Gary said "Is this a standard ECU a standard unit" & "what's that box there?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv6jpRPkYQw

H8GHOTI

Infoanon wrote: »

On interactive BBC has the Car tracker which Sky does not.

It's there alright, just not as easy to find as it should be.
In the main interactive screen if you press '4' it loads the car tracker screen.
Or if you are in one of the other views (main feed, on board camera etc....) and press the down button a list pops up with all the available options.

ScrubsfanChris

the culture of deference wrote: »

chemistry between eddie DC and jake is fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6T8KpH68sc

icdg

Rooney10 wrote: »

I do miss having Brundle on BBC, his grid walks are excellent, and I much prefer him as the first commentator rather than the second as he seems to be now.
.

Actually I thought the coverage slightly suffered last year from having two expert commentators (Brundle and Coulthard) instead of the previous pairing of a lay commentator and Brundle as expert commentator.

Re Gary Anderson v Ted Kravitz, it seems to be a different role Anderson has. Wheras Kravitz was pit-lane reporter, Anderson is almost a second expert commentator when he joins, he talks about the tech side but doesn't seem to offer any insider stories from the pits and teams.

Bahrain this weekend and my first time relying on Setanta with its lack of build up...

GTE

The Sky post race coverage is very bad. It is far too long with hardly anything in it. They are too flash and not enough substance, which is disappointing as I thought Ted and Martin were great on the BBC. It is like Sky are trying to chuck the BBC forum type of program in with the standard program so where the BBC could stop the forum when things died down and Sky have to keep it going.

Croft is getting more annoying but nothing majorly bad and Davidson is bloody horrendous.

Do quite like that token womans dark trousers on a white walled background though. :cool:

H8GHOTI

H8GHOTI wrote: »

It's there alright, just not as easy to find as it should be.
In the main interactive screen if you press '4' it loads the car tracker screen.
Or if you are in one of the other views (main feed, on board camera etc....) and press the down button a list pops up with all the available options.

The car tracker wasn't there today. I seen it yesterday during qualifying.
This was my first weekend watching it live & I presumed that it would be there for the race as well.
Strange that they have it for qualifying & not the race.

Slutmonkey57b

Jordan 191 wrote: »

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

What technical analysis? They sent him all the way to Brixworth to ask "Is this standard ECU a standard unit?" and "What's that box there?".

What the hell are you on about? Point out to me in the clip below where Gary said "Is this a standard ECU a standard unit" & "what's that box there?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv6jpRPkYQw

1:20. Clearly, I paraphrased, but I wasn't about to risk boredom induced narcolepsy by watching it again toget the wording exact. He picks up the ecu and says "is this the same for all the drivers?". There's nothing in that feature that hasn't been on the BBC coverage before, or discussed endlessly in the race. They even re-used the charging/discharging graphics.

Compare with @scarbsf1';s blog from a few months ago, and you'll see what technical analysis is. Gary is well capable, but the BBC producers insist that we'reall morons, and won't allow the coverage to get too technical.

Jordan 199

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

1:20. Clearly, I paraphrased, but I wasn't about to risk boredom induced narcolepsy by watching it again toget the wording exact. He picks up the ecu and says "is this the same for all the drivers?". There's nothing in that feature that hasn't been on the BBC coverage before, or discussed endlessly in the race. They even re-used the charging/discharging graphics.

I see what you're saying, but the thing about that feature is that someone who is new fan to the sport might not have known anything about KERS, so they might have learnt something about KERS after seeing that feature which I posted above.

Compare with @scarbsf1's blog from a few months ago, and you'll see what technical analysis is. Gary is well capable, but the BBC producers insist that we'reall morons, and won't allow the coverage to get too technical.

Scarbsf1's blog is very good, I agree about that, and so are Gary's articles in Autosport along with illustrations when new parts appear on the cars and so on.

Glico Man

There's a funny moment on BBC Sport website where Jake and DC run into Martin Brundle after the race

Available for those in the UK (and for those that have a work around )

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17808455


Found the youtube video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68SScq3LmRQ

NinjaK

BBC for their highlights show.

cocalolaman

BBC. I'd take humphrey over that other fella any day. They just seem more relaxed and laid back and its good to watch. Sky has all this high tech rubbish which I dont care for at all. When they were showing the grid line up they had all these glossy graphics and 'pressure valve' noises added in and I just cringed.

Georgie Thompson is just eye candy and the sky pad stuff is just meh in general. Damon Hill should not be talking unless I'm drinking coffee. I don't really miss brundle too much to be honest. I think DC has become quite good at the commentary and I've always like Ben Edwards.

The only problem I have with the BBC highlights is they dont show the whole podium ceremony or the drivers getting out of there cars. In Bahrain it was Kimi's first podium since 2009, Grosain's first podium in F1 ever, yet they showed Vettel waving his finger around for 5 seconds before cutting back to Jake and DC. They didn't even show the post race press conference.

But still, overall I'd pick BBC.

Hogzy

aaronh007 wrote: »

Found the youtube video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68SScq3LmRQ

That right there is one of the reasons BBC is better.

EvilMonkey

I don't get what everyone sees in Jake Humphrey. He is an ok presenter but i just feel F1 to him is a step on his BBC presenter careerer rather than him being there because he loves motor sport. The in jokes between them can be annoying at the times they seem to think they are the entertainment when its the race thats the entertainment and i just want to here interviews with drivers / team members and a small bit of analysis when their is no race on. I gave up watching the red button show ages ago and only turn on 10 - 15 min before the race.

marco2068

you should vote setanta so:pac:

Slutmonkey57b

Jordan 191 wrote: »

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

1:20. Clearly, I paraphrased, but I wasn't about to risk boredom induced narcolepsy by watching it again toget the wording exact. He picks up the ecu and says "is this the same for all the drivers?". There's nothing in that feature that hasn't been on the BBC coverage before, or discussed endlessly in the race. They even re-used the charging/discharging graphics.

I see what you're saying, but the thing about that feature is that someone who is new fan to the sport might not have known anything about KERS, so they might have learnt something about KERS after seeing that feature which I posted above.

The BBC trot that excuse out a lot. F1 audiences are not idiots or novices, so there's no excuse for explaining the tyres, KERS and drs 10 times in every race. Equally, covering the "newbie friendly" information takes 30 seconds, the rest of that piece could have been given over to actually using anderson's knowledge.