Speed channel to no longer carry F1 in USA

I don't know what the obsession with Varsha is. He comes off as a slightly absent minded snob. I hope NBC hires Hobbs and Matchett but not Varsha. Leigh Diffey, Varsha's replacement for some races, is way better.

The position has gone to Varsha's head. He actually used to come on the Speed TV F1 forum and argue with posters who criticized him.

@JennaFryer: NBC Sports Group signs 4-year deal for #F1 US rights. 4 races on NBC, 16 on NBC Sports Network.

@JennaFryer: Intent is to show all live. RT @digger3210: @JennaFryer Any idea on how many live?

@JennaFryer: Qualifying and practices sessions are scheduled for NBC Sports Network. Everything will be streamed live online.

THIS WOULD ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now i just have to either
a) check and already have NBC Sports Network as a part of my line up or
b) get it or
c) change providers so I will have it. My contract ends next April so switching it out a month early won't be a problem at all. or
d) pay for the online coverage if allowed.


EDIT TO ADD...stop at a. I already have NBC Sports Network, sweet. The channel seems to have less popular sports on it, which is likely why I have not watched it, although I seem to have a hazy memory that it may have carried some of the olympics.

Anyway, showing it All live - lovely words.

The online live streaming is a dream come true - a serious dream come true.

4 year deal. That is as long as I will probably be able to deal with being back in the states anyway, lol.

Edited by bourbon, 15 October 2012 - 05:00.

The position has gone to Varsha's head. He actually used to come on the Speed TV F1 forum and argue with posters who criticized him.

Yeah I remember I used to post on those forums and there was a thread about the ridiculous amount of commercials and Varsha came into the conversation and started giving all these excuses for FOX. It made him look like the biggest tool.

Hehe, yea, we're spoiled. I'm sure there'll come a day when I'm sitting there with my old plasma screen TV wondering why kids these days need to have these holographic imaging devices to be happy. I think I'm already getting a bit out of touch with cell phone technology nowadays.

Yes... cell phones is how it starts. Then it moves slowly to computers, clothes, music, food...

I think it is "the years" that start catching with one quite easily, and you simply stop caring about having to press 2 more keys, or having to wait 2 more seconds for the super amazing things to happen.

And it certainly reminded me of a youtube clip that talks about how spoiled we are, but I am not the best one on finding clips, so I will post it once I get my hands on it


And about the thread subject per se; I used to be in the US for a while, I liked Varsha better than the main commentator in Sky (David Croft?). Certainly couldn't stand Hobbs trying to be utterly funny, and Matchett's prima donna's attitude got old very quick with me.

HOWEVER, I also remember when NBC showed a couple of races back in 2005, and I have to say they weren't good... not good at all! If anything, they made the speedTV team look great, serious and professional.

Trouble with NBC (and the other networks) is, that if they run some other show (golf, football, or whatever), and game has not ended, F1 might easily gets wiped out or its broadcast postponed. Depends what the deal is, and I would also expect 25 min of racing against 35 min of F1 unrelated advertising. My initial feeling is that NBC slot is a good news for FOM, and bad deal for fans.

time to get rid of cable tv, and bump up the bandwidth to go 100% streaming.

digital reality vs. outdated brick & mortar mentality...

time to get rid of cable tv, and bump up the bandwidth to go 100% streaming.

digital reality vs. outdated brick & mortar mentality...

I don't think they will let you watch the stream if you don't have an account with a cable/SAT provider carrying NBC Sports. That's what NBC did during the Olympics (even when their channel was FREE TO AIR!) and that's how ESPN does it for ESPN3.

The position has gone to Varsha's head. He actually used to come on the Speed TV F1 forum and argue with posters who criticized him.

Speedtv was owned by different people then, and the forum was different back then, too.

This explains where the F1 budget went to. Call them the home of NASCAR now. Fine by me, it hasn't been the same since the channel was Speedvision. RIP

NHL, F1, INDYCAR......I can get used to a NBC Sports. Give it proper coverage boys!

Rumor is FOX had pretty much the same bid and that they chose NBC because they could show the American races live on the big network. FOX couldn't because of American football. Since F1 wants to make a big push commercially in the US it doesn't look good if your 2 American races are on a cable channel not available to all Americans.

@JennaFryer: Speed has confirmed on record it was outbid by another network for #F1

Quite shocking that F1 has fallen into a place where it was "outbid" by a network to carry it.

That's good news IMO.

Bad news about Bob Varsha though - frankly he's been the voice of F1 for us for decades!

Yup, that would be a shame.

And having lived in many countries I can honestly tell you the Speed crew is definitely one of the better ones. This would be a shame.

I heard that Machett and Hobs are signed for NBC but Varsha is still under contract.

Varsha confirmed he is contracted on twitter. Where have you heard Machett/Hobbs will move over? I can't get even as much as a 'no reply' from them.....Even hit Windsor up. The boys are tight lipped so far.

Edited by Woody3says, 15 October 2012 - 18:41.

I am a big fan of the 3 amigo's but to be honest, not Buxton. I have always enjoyed them and I have also watched many 'ahem' UK streams and although they have impressive pre and post race coverage I was never all that impressed by the actual race announcers in the BBC/Sky telecasts.

Having said that people shouldn't be so afraid of change. It is good to mix things up every once in a while. It sad when every year I see those AOWR fans screaming about getting Paul Page back.

Edited by Watkins74, 15 October 2012 - 18:18.

I don't think they will let you watch the stream if you don't have an account with a cable/SAT provider carrying NBC Sports. That's what NBC did during the Olympics (even when their channel was FREE TO AIR!) and that's how ESPN does it for ESPN3.

After the Olympics streaming shenanigans by NBC, I don't hold much faith in them. Illegal streams FTW!

I'll still be illegaly streaming Brundle & Co. btw.

Id actually only keep Varsha. I think their schtick works for small market stuff, but if you're going to do proper NBC broadcasts how about some professionals? Hobbs adds nothing in the 'former driver role' and Matchett's technical input often seems limited to his annoying tic of calling every car by its full designation.

I don't know what the obsession with Varsha is. He comes off as a slightly absent minded snob. I hope NBC hires Hobbs and Matchett but not Varsha. Leigh Diffey, Varsha's replacement for some races, is way better.

This is why we don't do drugs kids!!

Also a funny screenshot from the NBC website that was posted on Jalopnik. Sports journalism at it's best:

I am a big fan of the 3 amigo's but to be honest, not Buxton.

Same here, although I've grown to like him from his blog. I agree with a lot of his opinions there. Much prefer Windsor on the grid still.

Also a funny screenshot from the NBC website that was posted on Jalopnik. Sports journalism at it's best:

Oh dear...

Edited by Woody3says, 15 October 2012 - 18:48.

The latest news:

http://www.racer.com...article/263645/

* ALL races will be aired LIVE

* NBC will air Canada, UAE, USA, and Brazil LIVE. All others will be on the NBC Sports Network. Looks like this means no delayed races. The New Jersey race conflicts with US Open golf, so it doesn't make the big network.

* All races will be streamed live on the net

* 100+ hours of programming for the 20 race schedule. At 5 hrs/race, that is roughly 1 practice + quali + race or quali + race + misc highlights/pre-race/post-race shows.

- No word on a commentary team.

A few additional nuggets here:

http://bigstory.ap.o...hts-formula-one

NBC will air four races — the Canadian Grand Prix in June, and the final three races of the season in November — while the remaining 16 races will air on NBC Sports Network. All practice and qualifying sessions will also be on the cable station.

Miller said the intent is to broadcast everything live, but the network is working through a small number of scheduling conflicts. All 20 races will be live streamed on NBC Sports Group's live-stream platform.

Miller said NBC Sports Group will use F1's world feed, but is still ironing out its production details. The network will likely use a reporter on site at every event with a booth based in the U.S. — the same way Speed covered its races — but Miller indicated there was possibility of having an expanded on-site crew at certain events.

time to get rid of cable tv, and bump up the bandwidth to go 100% streaming.

digital reality vs. outdated brick & mortar mentality...

Having paid for a season of streaming from MotoGP, I can tell you that the transport medium has a long way to go before it replaces cable or satellite TV. Did you catch any of NBC's olympics streaming coverage? I guess it depends on if you are OK with constant stutters and a mega-compressed bitrate @ 700 x 400 viewing area.

I'll have to find alternate viewing opportunities if NBC brings Posey in...

Posey suffers from Parkinson's. It is very unlikely that he will ever do another live race call.


I am going to miss Speed in general, but not the hit it put on my cable bill. Having viewed all 3 network's this year from my POV I found the Speed team (and I guess I am in the minority that feels Buxton has been an awesome addition to the team) better than Sky's but not as good as the BBC coverage. Here's to hoping some of that talent does make the trip to NBC.

Long live Hobb's bar tour of Monaco!

*The New Jersey race

* All races will be streamed live on the net

* 100+ hours of programming for the 20 race schedule. At 5 hrs/race, that is roughly 1 practice + quali + race or quali + race + misc highlights/pre-race/post-race shows.

- No word on a commentary team.

*wont be around to even bother with, so no issue there.

*excellent news!

*ditto!

*understandable, but impatiently waiting...

* All races will be streamed live on the net

Is there a premium for this? - I am very unfamiliar with this NBC sports network channel.
thanks. .

Is there a premium for this? - I am very unfamiliar with this NBC sports network channel.
thanks. .

I will try when I get home, but I'll bet it's free if you have NBCSports as part of your cable/sat package.

I just looked and I have NBC sports, on DirecTV it is part of a sports package apprently from which Speed is part of. I'm glad they'll have the races online as well though the iPad app reviews says the streams are very bad quality, hopefully they fix this. To access the online streaming you have to have access to the channel through your cable provider and have an online account with the cable company, this is the way it was with NBC during the olympics.

I do hope this is for the better and I hope we get less commercials if any at all, after all we are paying a premium for this sports package. I also hope they keep the Speed commentators though lately they've been a bunch of Kimi and RB cheerleaders. Bob Varsha (the old guy) I think made a hint that he'll move as he's done in the past.

Also a funny screenshot from the NBC website that was posted on Jalopnik. Sports journalism at it's best:

Wow, that really is terrible. Someone in a non-F1 role confuses team-mates.

The best option for NBC would be getting BBC commentators feed, TSN in Canada uses it and its night and day difference compared to Speed channel.

If there is commercial on TSN I sometimes switch over to Speed, Hobbs always interrupts, Matchett is still talking about things from 20 years ago, Varsha likes to keep talking and talking.

I just looked and I have NBC sports, on DirecTV it is part of a sports package apprently from which Speed is part of. I'm glad they'll have the races online as well though the iPad app reviews says the streams are very bad quality, hopefully they fix this. To access the online streaming you have to have access to the channel through your cable provider and have an online account with the cable company, this is the way it was with NBC during the olympics.

I do hope this is for the better and I hope we get less commercials if any at all, after all we are paying a premium for this sports package. I also hope they keep the Speed commentators though lately they've been a bunch of Kimi and RB cheerleaders. Bob Varsha (the old guy) I think made a hint that he'll move as he's done in the past.

CF22,

Speed and NBC Sports are not part of a "sports" package on Direct TV. They're included as part of Choice Extra and above packages !

Yep. Choice Extra pkg. 603 for NBCS and 607 for Speed.

The best option for NBC would be getting BBC commentators feed,.

you got to be joking.

Where is Chris Economaki when we really need him?

This is why we don't do drugs kids!!

Sorry for offending Varsha's #1 stalker.

The best option for NBC would be getting BBC commentators feed, TSN in Canada uses it and its night and day difference compared to Speed channel.

I prefer Speed guys to BBC.
However, if they are going to get British audio commentary, they need Sky. Croft & Brundle know how to call the race, and they are fun to hear.

It beter be the Speed guys or the Sky guys.

Maybe no more F1 drivers going on Letterman (CBS) instead it may be Leno (NBC). (Not that I care as I can't stand either of them).

BTW the first three rounds of the hockey playoffs, mostly on NBC Sports Network, had its best ratings since 1997 when it was on ESPN. But on ESPN in the early part of the last decade ratings were poor and according to hockey fans coverage was half baked and without much Sports Center coverage despite ESPN having rights. With few sports properties NBCSN has provided more extensive coverage of the sports it does have as well as lots of cross channel promotions. So I predict F1 coverage for the first couple of years on NBCSN will be as extensive as it was on Speed, though no more so.

I pay for the Silver 200 package with Dish Network for SpeedTV, I would have to cough up for the "gold" 250+ channel package or "americas favorites" both which are more then I'm willing to pay for, since I already now watch maybe a tiny fraction of the channels.

What a ****ing rip off!

Sorry for offending Varsha's #1 stalker.

Just having those words in the same sentence almost makes this sig worthy!


I hope that shelling out for F1 shows they have every intent to bring a great product. They do great NHL coverage IMO and would at INDYCAR with a different com crew (which now will come with Jenkins gone)

Hey '74, I would rather have Page, guilty as charged. I'm open for suggestions though.

Menace I have Uverse. Speed is on U100 but you have to go to U200 for NBCSN (Versus at the time) I already have U200 for other channels luckily.

Edited by Woody3says, 16 October 2012 - 00:23.

I am not sure at this point if this is a good thing or a bad thing but I find it interesting that IndyCar fans bemoan the fact the series is on this network (NBC Sports Network/old Versus). How horrible the coverage is. I'll reserve judgement on if this is a step forward or what it looks like at this point, a stagger to the side.

Was just watching NBC waiting for Jimmy Fallon to begin and saw a Ferrari pit stop on TV all of a sudden during commercial break. So now they have a pretty cool advertisement for Formula 1 on NBC, it says coming March.

Trouble with NBC (and the other networks) is, that if they run some other show (golf, football, or whatever), and game has not ended, F1 might easily gets wiped out or its broadcast postponed. Depends what the deal is, and I would also expect 25 min of racing against 35 min of F1 unrelated advertising. My initial feeling is that NBC slot is a good news for FOM, and bad deal for fans.

Not if they are showing the race live. There are no other sports on at those times. The only exception might be the occassional FP 1 in the Asian time zone.

However, anything popular enough to preempt F1 would be shown on NBC as opposed to NBC Sports Network, so I don't think it would be an issue. Besides, if they are also going to stream live on line - even for a fee - then I won't care at all what they do on the television.

Where is Chris Economaki when we really need him?

Exactly...
Well played fbarrett.
Jp

I am not sure at this point if this is a good thing or a bad thing but I find it interesting that IndyCar fans bemoan the fact the series is on this network (NBC Sports Network/old Versus). How horrible the coverage is. I'll reserve judgement on if this is a step forward or what it looks like at this point, a stagger to the side.

Coverage isn't bad, it's just on a channel that no one seems to get. When I first heard this news I thought, Oh good, this should drive interest in NBC Sports and Indycar's TV ratings will ride the wave, but then I thought, Haha actually we're talking about F1 in America here.

NBC Sports has started a new channel and so far I'm impressed with the quality of their work. I think they have big plans for this because all the advertising dollars in America now are increasingly coming from Sports...NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. It seems America is drunk with escapism and I'm the town drunk...

Any major network in the US will have just as many commercials as Speed and will not want to devote a lot of time for pre and post race coverage for what is a niche sport in the US. They do some coverage on "foreign" sports because many of the events are once a year and have Americans participating (Tour de France, Wimbledon, ect). 20 races though?

I think that's an unfair statement, while the TdF is once per year, NBC does provide full coverage with all stages live (typically 4+ hours each stage) and commentators on-site in France.
F1 coverage would probably be a similar number of hours to the TdF coverage.

I live in the USA, and I probably am in the minority on this, however I was not a huge fan of Varsha/Hobbs/Matchett, but I appreciate their enthusiasm for the sport

I put Speed TV on my HDTV just for the HD feed, but then I listen to the SkyTV broadcast for the race. I enjoy Brundle tremendously, and would rather listen to him than anyone else. But I do realize it is subjective to how one feels about an announcer, or announcers.

It's a shame Speed is losing the coverage. Yet, I think it was time for them to lose coverage. I've grown to despise Speed TV as a whole. 10-12 years ago, I used to always turn Speed on...there were so many great things to see on there. Then over time, it slowly became saturated with NASCAR coverage, and in the last few years, we've seen a flood of reality TV shows on the channel. It's hard to believe this channel used to show vintage F1 racing from the 1950s at one time. It was positively amazing to be able to watch Fangio. Even the F1 Decade show Speed ran for a couple of years was a lovely show as seeing any older F1 footage is difficult. YouTube has alleviated that a bit nowadays thankfully. But at the time, YouTube still wasn't there.

It's sort of a bittersweet ending for Varsha and Hobbs, as I've associated both with F1 for many years...unless they do both wind up on NBC Sports Network. I can still remember them doing the broadcast for the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix on ESPN. They've seen quite a bit of racing, and they were definitely big fans of Senna.

I think that's an unfair statement, while the TdF is once per year, NBC does provide full coverage with all stages live (typically 4+ hours each stage) and commentators on-site in France.
F1 coverage would probably be a similar number of hours to the TdF coverage.

It's not that unfair. But, that being said, they plan to give F1 about 100+ hrs of coverage for the 20 races, so it's about the same as we get now: P2, Q, Pre-race, Race & Post-race, plus live-streaming of all sessions and the race. The ads will probably be about the same, as well. The only real worry at this point is the commentary team...

Edited by CONOSUR, 16 October 2012 - 23:20.

On a positive note, if I'm not mistaken, NBCSN is broadcast in 1080i. SpeedTV is in 720P. So true HD broadcasts......

Edited by FSA, 17 October 2012 - 00:57.

It seems America is drunk with escapism and I'm the town drunk...

Mmm, posting brilliance...
Thanks David.
Jp

Start a thread here and you get up to SPEED quickly on a subject! Thanks guys.
Hopefully NBC may make enough money to send a crew to the race, that was the biggest problem with Speed.
Glad they are streaming, though it will be locked into cable provider. No replays either...
Would anyone here pay for streaming, on demand viewing, downloadable races... I sure would

Sorry for offending Varsha's #1 stalker.

Sorry for making sense.