60 replies to this topic

[midgrid]

Inspired by the slightly bizarre "Gary Anderson vs Martin Brundle" thread, I'm interested in people's wider opinions on how they perceive the British television coverage this year, particularly as I have not watched any Sky footage.

I can only ask three questions with a poll, so I will add an additional (and more complex) one here: do you stand by, or regret the decision you made vis-a-vis television coverage this year? Sky subscribers, will you be renewing or cancelling your subscription when the current one runs out? BBC viewers, will you be sticking with the half-and-half highlights packages, or signing up for full live coverage in the near future.

I myself have stuck with the BBC coverage and will be doing so for the rest of the season.

Lastly, my apologies to the many members of this forum to whom this poll does not apply!

[rossbrawn]

BBC for all three.

I cannot stand Crofty, the smugness of Kravitz and the egotistical Brundle.

The BBC has a lot more chemistry with its presenters; a bunch of characters that get along. Sky is more 'techy' with its Sky-pad, however, their presenters don't cut it for me: they're bland and make pre-race coverage tough to watch.

Edited by rossbrawn, 31 July 2012 - 20:26.

[ultrapro]

Last year (as we knew at the time) was always going to be as good as it got. The only thing I'd change retrospectively would be to have had Anderson instead of Kravitz

[xAtarigeekx]

Sky have the best coverage of the on track action, and the best overall show if pre race, race and post race coverage are taken as a whole, so they win the first vote. Brundle pretty much wins it for them alone. And the whole Crofty shouts too much thing I don't understand, Ben Edwards has been getting more and more shouty recently, and often about meaningless things. Ted is also better in the pits than Gary Anderson.

BBC have best pre and post race coverage when you just look at them alone. Sky are a little bit off still, but it's improving as the season goes on. I've watched Sky live every race, but always watched the BBC show in full later in the week. Can't say I miss Eddie Jordan from my live broadcast.

Already addressed the commentary thing. Brundle > DC, Crofty > Ben Edwards

Edited by xAtarigeekx, 31 July 2012 - 20:42.

[R420]

Sky have the best coverage of the on track action, and the best overall show if pre race, race and post race coverage are taken as a whole, so they win the first vote. Brundle pretty much wins it for them alone. And the whole Crofty shouts too much thing I don't understand, Ben Edwards has been getting more and more shouty recently, and often about meaningless things. Ted is also better in the pits than Gary Anderson.

BBC have best pre and post race coverage when you just look at them alone. Sky are a little bit off still, but it's improving as the season goes on. I've watched Sky live every race, but always watched the BBC show in full later in the week. Can't say I miss Eddie Jordan from my live broadcast.

Already addressed the commentary thing. Brundle > DC, Crofty > Ben Edwards

That statement is sooo wrong. The on track action you see is the same on every channel, it is produced by FOM (Formula One Management), and EVERY broadcaster in the world shows this.
I think the fact that you are paying for the Sky Sports coverage your head is tricking you in to thinking it is better in an attempt to justify the expense.

[MP422]

I like the BBC but i miss Brundle with them. Sky sports has some hot females and a lot of pre race and post race stuff that is good. But i like the BBC coverage the best.

[Philzippy]

I'm not sure that the BBC has the pits channel, 4 onboard channls etc.. - might be wrong?

Also edited highlights is not the same as full coverage and, therefore, the statement is correct

That statement is sooo wrong. The on track action you see is the same on every channel

[R420]

BBC every time for me. The team (even without Jake and Eddie) are able to make the coverage enjoyable and entertaining, the Sky Sports coverage is just to dull and boring for me. They seem to take forever discussing things and the programme being segmented for adverts (which I don't think should be shown on a premium paid channel) just makes this worse.

Now whenever I watch the live coverage on Sky Sports, I tune in only a couple of minutes prior to the session starting, I do tend to watch a bit of the post-race if there is a bit of drama, but generally switch off as soon as the throw to the Sky Sports drone (Simon).

[Buttoneer]

Midgrid, I hate to be the one to complain about the poll but I can only really vote for the commentary teams as I don't watch the pre and post race coverage to any appreciable extent. I did vote BBC for best commentary, but chose the non applicable for the others even though my reasons were not as stated.

[Longtimefan]

Sky all the way for me.

Just one look of that smug git Jake on the BBC makes me want to vomit.

[TheWilliamzer]

For the visual experience, Sky offers the best views from all cars and cams and got so many options. But regarding the human resources the BBC still got the best people commenting, analysing and even messing around after races. Nothing beats the trio JH-EJ-DC!

[Coral]

I have watched all the races on Sky and I think their coverage has been excellent. I am really enjoying the F1 channel, and I don't miss the BBC at all.

[TheWilliamzer]

For the visual experience, Sky offers the best views from all cars and cams and got so many options. But regarding the human resources the BBC still got the best people commenting, analysing and even messing around after races. Nothing beats the trio JH-EJ-DC!

[Fonzey]

I'm a Sky subscriber, I've watched one race on the BBC live just to try it out and I often watch the BBC highlights later in the week.

Simon Lazenby is terrible, and speaks like he's got too many teeth. Shows no real interest in F1 and I just find him quite annoying. Luckily his screentime is limited when it really counts.

Jake Humphry is much less awkward to watch and listen to, but he spends too much time wittering about twitter, Norwich and the Olympics. He's the lesser of two evils when it comes to "lead" presenters.

Missing EJ is almost the best part of Sky.

Georgie Thompson actually pleasantly surprised me, she seems to keep up with the F1 conversations and doesn't seem so out of place considering her background.

Anthony Davidson was brilliant before he went rolling around in a LeMans car! I miss his presence on Sky but Jonny has actually been pretty good too.

Damon is a bit awkward to watch, and a bit too much of a Williams fanboy for my liking!

I HATE Crofty. He's close to Legard's standards of screaming and frothing at insignificant events. He makes the first lap cringeworthy to be honest.

Brundle is excellent, best of the commentators and is enough to carry the Sky coverage even if everything else did royally suck. (it doesn't though, luckily)

DC is good too, I miss his chemistry with Brundle.

Edwards is crap too, close to Crofty's level but I've not seen/heard enough of him to properly hate him yet.

JV was terrible for his Canada special, he really is a personality best kept away from a microphone. That was a one off though so can't downrate Sky too much on it.

I like Sky's features, such as the Brundle Ferrari stuff.

I think to summarise, if both Sky and BBC both had full live coverage of a season - I'd still watch Sky for Brundle, and lack of EJ. I'd love Brundle to do the lead commentator role he did last season with a fairly recent driver as his technical backup. DC was excellent in this role, but if it can't be him I'm sure someone else would be up for it.

Brundle has got the ability to be a lead commentator and still has the F1/tech knowledge to allow him to call the on-track stuff properly and he only raises is voice/tempo for the most extreme of incidents rather than Crofty/Edwards who are spraying saliva at the microphone for every little bit of action on track.

[R420]

I'm not sure that the BBC has the pits channel, 4 onboard channls etc.. - might be wrong?

Also edited highlights is not the same as full coverage and, therefore, the statement is correct

Not quite my point. Every channel can have what Sky Sports F1 has if they want it, most just do not have the capability. It is not Sky Sports that have meant that these are available, they are just taking advantage of the changes FOM have made to improve the coverage.
Take the media being allowed in the pitlane during the practice sessions and the afore mentioned pits channel, FOM have (finally) started to provide more features to broadcasters. None of these changes are because Sky Sports have started broadcasting F1 (to the minority) in the UK

BBC do provide the pits channel as well, it is available online. This is provided by FOM too.

[rossbrawn]

Nothing beats the trio JH-EJ-DC!

Too true .

[rossbrawn]

...Sky sports has some hot females....

By that, I assume you're referring to Georgie and Natalie?

[Buttoneer]

Please do not use this thread as an opportunity to complain about the licence fee or the Murdochs. Please report posters who abuse the thread in this way and we will take action to deal with it.

[xAtarigeekx]

That statement is sooo wrong. The on track action you see is the same on every channel, it is produced by FOM (Formula One Management), and EVERY broadcaster in the world shows this.
I think the fact that you are paying for the Sky Sports coverage your head is tricking you in to thinking it is better in an attempt to justify the expense.

Thank you for being so condescending, but no, I am quite mentally in tact, thank you.

I am aware that FOM provide the whole thing. What I mean is Sky's presentation of the on track action, meaning the commentary and the reporters in the pits, is better.

Edit: And I have had Sky for many years, the addition of the F1 channel did not cost me anything, so I have no reason to try and justify anything.

Edited by xAtarigeekx, 31 July 2012 - 21:30.

[jeze]

I'm Swedish and here it's been in pay channels since 2009. If you want to watch it badly you get it. There are no commercials during the races these days so I have no complaints.

[Fonzey]

By that, I assume you're referring to Georgie and Natalie?

We probably need a Georgie vs Natalie thread tbh

Natalie gets my vote

[JV97]

Need another option in each for 'both the same'.

Almost exclusively watched Sky but seen quite a lot of BBC highlights.

Presenter: Jake by a mile
Expert: Prefer Brundle over DC by a fairly big margin
Comms: Not a fan of Croft. Edwards a proper motorsport man so he edges it for me
Coverage: Loathe the Skypad, Georgie serves no purpose beyond the F1 show but Herbert is very good...not so Hill & McNish. I like Ted, Ant is ok.
Prefer Lee over Natalie (but the gap is closing) and Sky could really do with a proper ex team technical guy like Anderson.

[MP422]

We probably need a Georgie vs Natalie thread tbh

Natalie gets my vote

do it !

[R420]

By that, I assume you're referring to Georgie and Natalie?

Myself I prefer more of a natural beauty over the make-up slapped typical Sky Sport token dolly bird. Give me Lee every day, now there is someone who can look sexy even in the BBC Sport clothing.

Thank you for being so condescending, but no, I am quite mentally in tact, thank you.

I am aware that FOM provide the whole thing. What I mean is Sky's presentation of the on track action, meaning the commentary and the reporters in the pits, is better.

Edit: And I have had Sky for many years, the addition of the F1 channel did not cost me anything, so I have no reason to try and justify anything.

I have always been like this, I do not know how much a person knows, so I explain everything.

I'm Swedish and here it's been in pay channels since 2009. If you want to watch it badly you get it. There are no commercials during the races these days so I have no complaints.

But then there are not many countries that have as many ways to receive TV like we do in the UK.

[rossbrawn]

do it !

Keep the (long) summer break rolling!

[Currahee]

I prefer Sky to BBC and the wife prefers the BBC so she watches upstairs while I watch downstairs.

This is ideal because I hate her.

[Fastcake]

I miss Brundle, but overall the BBC coverage is just better. I like the Jake, DC and Eddie trio a lot personally, and Gary Anderson is a really great addition to the team this year. They give the right amount of entertainment and information, and it's a much more natural partnership and presentation. The Sky team remains poor, Lazenby especially hasn't improved and frankly should be replaced. And while they are some good features, the show is just too long and I often end up missing things. It would be nice if they could put them up on the website (unless I'm missing something..?).

On the commentary it's a bit more even, but Crofty has been fairly lacklustre at best and has not improved from the radio commentary he used to do - if anything it's been worse. Edwards is better if nothing special, and I think DC is a natural in the role, if not quite as good as Brundle.

Where Sky do win is the better HD picture quality - especially for the practice sessions which are under the red button on the BBC. Still I don't see why we can't have HD red button going forwards, as the Beeb are doing that for the Olympics.

[jimjimjeroo]

I prefer Sky to BBC and the wife prefers the BBC so she watches upstairs while I watch downstairs.

This is ideal because I hate her.

That is the single greatest comment I have ever read on this forum!

[PayasYouRace]

BBC +ves: Presenters Jake and Lee. Ben Edwards.

Sky +ves: Brundle, Ted generally better pre and post race coverage. Damon Hill.

Overall both produce good coverage and I'm happy to watch on either depending on what's available/more convenient for me.

Each also has aspects that I find annoying. Coulthard and Anderson, while being very well versed technically, can be a bit too dry most of the time. I can't stand Eddie Jordan most of the time too. On the other side, Sky has a particularly annoying presenter in Simon and the Sky pad seems a bit superfluous.

I tend to choose Sky when given the option, because I'm a huge fan of Brundle and Damon.

I guess if I could I'd have Lee and Jake alternating the presenting duties. A rotating selection of pundits including most of the ex-drivers as seen on Sky. Anderson for technical features, Ted for pitlane reporting, any of the girls for driver pen and post retirement interviews and Edwards and Brundle in the box.

[robefc]

I personally find the commentary pretty much a tie and pre and post race coverage pretty even in that it's largely irrelevant and I don't learn much.

All I care about really is live coverage so I stick with sky as I prefer that to switching every other race.

[midgrid]

Need another option in each for 'both the same'.

Boring! Don't sit on the fence.

[MP422]

I prefer Sky to BBC and the wife prefers the BBC so she watches upstairs while I watch downstairs.

This is ideal because I hate her.

Haha !

[Fastcake]

I prefer Sky to BBC and the wife prefers the BBC so she watches upstairs while I watch downstairs.

This is ideal because I hate her.

"So what are the grounds for a divorce...?"

[chrisblades85]

I watch Sky's coverage all the time now. But still watch the forum on the Beeb and catch bits of the higlights, but by that time the Mrs is back in from work and moans, I have to turn it off.

I'd have Anderson over Kravitz any day. Kravitz makes stuff up.
Not really keen on Lazenby, but Jake annoys me now and always, it seems, talks about EJ's shirts or get digs in at Sky.

It's not really a case of staying with Sky because of what they offer in terms of pre/post race stuff. It's the fact they show every race live, not being able to do that would probably kill me

I like being able to watch GP2 again properly, as Eurosport put it on whenever it suited them

Edited by chrisblades85, 31 July 2012 - 22:40.

[Wander]

I would love to be able to watch the BBC broadcast to see how it is, but wrong country.

[Tauhid]

BBC but just by a small margin on the commentary quality. I enjoy Brundle's insights the most of all 4 commentators and I don't mind Crofty but sometimes he does get a bit too repetitive. I think BBC's lead commentator is fantastic and a huge improvement over Jonathan. I wish Martin was still on BBC. Only sad thing about BBC is that they still have EJ around who annoys the crap out of me at most times. And last but not least, Gary Anderson is an absolute gem, I don't miss Ted Kravtiz at all!

[Chewie]

I’ve watched all the races live via Sky and then watched either the BBC’s recorded race coverage or highlights package after and I would comfortably give Sky the nod in all the categories.

I can honestly say having watched all the races and qualifying coverage to date, at no point when I’ve been watching the live coverage from Sky have I felt the need to turn over and watch the BBC’s coverage.

Martin Brundles reading of the race situation and what’s going on is superb; he simply has a better feeling for what’s going on than Coulthard.

Crofty and Edwards, there’s nothing in it, they both probably shout a little too much but they both add some urgency to what’s happening.

Lee McKenzie and Natalie Pinkham, I never thought I would say it but I prefer Natalie’s input, she seems to get better responses and input from the drivers, with the exception of Schumacher who I think has a little soft spot for Lee.

Ted Kravitz is very good at his job, for me his manner can be a little impersonal at times but he’s not afraid of asking whoever he’s interviewing tough questions and drills them sometimes until he gets an answer.

When you throw in Sky’s regular input from Anthony Davidson, Damon Hill, Karun Chandhok and Allan McNish it’s a comfortable win for Sky

The only win for the BBC is the technical input from Gary Anderson which is superb and it’s an area missing from Sky’s coverage.

I think we should also bear in mind that this is Sky’s first year of coverage and in my opinion they’ve raised the bar, things will undoubtedly improve next year and I’m looking forward to it.

We should also remember that it was the BBC that sold F1 fans down the river, Sky didn’t poach the coverage they were offered it by the BBC who preferred to spend money on quality programming like The Voice

[Peat]

I think everyone is getting lost in the details here.

There is only one option if you want to watch every race live or whenever you like (within physical possibility).

So, that's why Sky wins.

I couldn't give a stuff about the presenters because i never watch all that guff.

[kosmos]

BBC in every category, not only I enjoy Edwards + Coulthard more but I'm also tired of Brudle and Kravitz almighty attitude. If I throw the fact that one is free and the other not, is even easier to choose BBC.

[SennaBoys]

It's got to be BBC all the way for me, I've been watching both BBC and Sky and I just find sky as dull as dish water. When watching the BBC I find myself not missing Brundle and I think the addition of Gary has been a great move. I also agree on the comment about Lee, she beats the Sky girls every time....it's the voice too, you can see why the drivers reveal so much to her

Lets hope JH, DC & EJ stay together as they are so good as a combination

[TimRTC]

Happy with BBC coverage and no desire to invest in Sky, although I find it rather frustrating that the PS3 version of the iPlayer mysteriously doesn't show FP3 and refuses to load up the race properly until at least the day after, so I have to watch it on my netbook instead.

[RoutariEnjinu]

I liked the DC EJ and JH combination at first, but it got boring with all the talking about clothes, and EJ seems to just be prompted when they want someone to say they have an opinion opposite to the popular one, regardless of what it is, or whether it's smart or not.
I wanted to like them, but found myself a bit put off by JH sometimes. He seems like a great bloke, but I think he enjoys the camera and off topic banter more than Formula 1.

The Sky counterpart doesn't draw so much attention to himself and is as likeable as you can get without drawing attention away from the sport. I like him for that. He's slick, smart, well spoken and says the right things. He lets the sport be the show, rather than make it all about him and his immediate surroundings.

For me, Brundle is the voice of F1. I hate his grid walk with a passion, it makes me cringe, but I love his commentary.

I don't mind Crofty at all, and it's not like he's some chump shoe horned in. He's an F1 nut that's been doing it for radio for a long time. I don't find him shouty or overexcitable at all. Considering they're half a season in together, it should only get better too.

However, I really did like the Brundle and DC live commentary combination. I was sceptical of it, but it really did work well.

Kravitz I don't mind. He's a bit of a nob sometimes, but he gets the answers, and again, the guy obviously loves his F1. If something's happened in the pits during a race, the m*********er is there, he's calling up without being asked, he's already on it.
Sometimes the BBC versions sound like they're just relaying a message, or repeating an answer they got for a question they were asked to ask, like some kid passing messages between rooms. They seem happy and enjoy their job, but don't seem personally interested in finding out what's going on. They don't seem to understand unusually things going on.

The Sky woman is all right, but she's just employed for tits and ass, and this is obvious when you see the camera shots for the Sky Pad.
They started out with a wide angle, making the Sky Pad seem a bit pointless, but showing plenty of ass, and then seemed to tighten it a bit so you can see clearer, but this cut out her ass. This must have been veto'd by the trash TV people at Sky and it seems to have again reverted to ass profile leaving you squint to see this big **** off sized touch screen they spent money on.

I don't know about anyone else, but I watch F1 for F1. I'd sooner have the tighter shot of the material being discussed, than it blatantly just zoomed out to show a semi attractive girl in a dress with fat arms, that makes Davidson look like a midget.
It's 2012. If I want ass, it will take me about 5 seconds to see some, with another, equally attractive girl's face buried in it, if I wanted to. I could even do this at the same time as seeing more of the Sky Pad in frame.

Show me more Sky Pad.

Edited by RoutariEnjinu, 01 August 2012 - 11:09.

[tifosiMac]

I voted BBC on all 3.
The lineup is the best we have ever had IMO and I feel I have given Sky a chance but they didn't impress.

I am able to receive both channels and if I thought Sky were better, then I'd be watching their coverage. Simple as that.

[fifi]

jake annoys me these days so that means sky wins

[Jon83]

Though I voted BBC for the second and third question, I voted Sky for the first as this cannot possibly be in question given they are the only ones to cover every weekend live.

[OoxLox]

I usually sit down to watch 5 mins before the start and switch off after the podium ceremony, or maybe hang around a bit to watch the team celebrations like on Sunday. So the pre-show and post-show "added value" stuff makes no difference to me and they've all got the same FOM feed. For me, Sky inches it because of the commentary team and Ted Kravitz in the pit lane.

Mind you, I did go watch the BBC team doing the wing-walking for Silverstone in iPlayer, and that was hilarious.

[Disgrace]

I gave Sky all three votes.

All races are live thus Sky wins the first vote.

Second because, although bland as many have pointed out (and I agree), they do talk about F1 unlike the BBC trio who talk about shirts. Like another poster, I did originally enjoy their "banter" but now they simply rehash the same jokes every time they're on air. The difference between the anchormen is the biggest for me.

I also prefer the Sky commentary team, primarily because of Brundle and secondly as Crofty is just a tad less shouty than Edwards. The only thing I really prefer about the BBC coverage is Lee over Natalie for superior questions.

Both sets of coverage are world class, however, so British viewers are spoilt for choice. Any bickering between the two is misplaced.

Edited by Disgrace, 01 August 2012 - 15:09.

[Tract1on]

Georgie Thompson

[UPRC]

I prefer Sky to BBC and the wife prefers the BBC so she watches upstairs while I watch downstairs.

This is ideal because I hate her.

You just made me almost burst a lung at work!

Anyway...

Brundle and Croft > Coulthard and Edwards
I still find Brundle to be more knowledgeable than Coulthard. He's able to pick a situation apart very well and tell us what's going on. He's also more charismatic than Coulthard, though DC has the better sense of humour. As for Croft and Edwards, I'll take Croft any day of the week. Edwards is too loud and just seems like he's trying to be another Murray Walker. Croft doesn't get too loud and he has some decent chemistry with Brundle after half of the season.

Ted Kravitz = Gary Anderson
I think that Gary has the better insight but, as RoutariEnjinu said, Ted is always right there whenever anything happens. He's on top of EVERYTHING. Because of these two qualities in each guy, I find that they're pretty even in terms of what they bring to the coverage.

Lee MacKenzie > Natalie Pinkham
Natalie is definitely prettier and she's doing a decent job, but Lee has a solid reputation and she's been reporting from the paddock for years. People know her well, so she's able to extract that little bit more from the people she speaks to.

Simon, Damon, Johnny > Jake, Eddie
I prefer Simon over Jake because he stays on topic and he discusses what we're watching for - F1. Jake has a habit of going off topic a lot or just indulging in random talk that I don't care about. While some people say Simon seems too uncomfortable in his role, I've grown to prefer him over smug Jake. He comes across as an everyday joe who is there to bounce questions off of the ex-drivers, and it works.
Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert are just way better than Eddie Jordan. While Damon can be a little dull at times, Johnny is brimming with charisma, insight, and personality. You could probably put him in any role and he'd excel, he's a natural for this. Johnny alone is way better than nerve grating Eddie, and Damon's dull but helpful insight drags Sky's pundits up and above BBC's by a big margin for me. Despite liking Simon over Jake, I still think Simon should go and that Johnny should be the lead pundit. He would be fantastic in the position, I'm sure.

Forget about Georgie and Anthony. They're decent at what they're doing, but there isn't much on the BBC that is similar to the Sky Pad, so I will simply consider them to be a bonus.

Edited by UPRC, 01 August 2012 - 16:45.

[tifosiMac]

Its clear from this thread and others that Brundle is still a pull for some people. Although I don't rate him as highly as others, he obviously influences the choices of some people and Sky should be grateful for that.

Both sets of coverage are world class, however, so British viewers are spoilt for choice. Any bickering between the two is misplaced.

Its very easy to say people shouldn't bicker about the two channels when the one saying it is a position where they have the best of both worlds. I'm sure you'll say that if you didn't have access to ever race live, you'd be skipping across the meadows of England being grateful for how lucky we are to have two channels showing the races. Like yourself, I can watch either Sky or the BBC, but my personal preference towards the Beeb is slightly tainted by the fact the content is less. At the end of the day for me, the Beeb deliver far superior coverage and I would much rather deal with highlights for the odd race than add to the viewing figures on the satelite channel. I don't think this controversial deal is good for the popularity of the sport in Britain and I think in the next 5 years we are going to see the effects of this. Fans who are happy to support the deal because it doesn't affect them is fine, but we would have had a much greater impact had fans done a little more to object to it in the first place. British fans have only themselves to blame in the future and I hope things like the British GP are dropped off the calendar and we are forced to realise that selling out possibly wasn't the brightest thing we ever did. Sky's stiff, advert filled, over analysed build ups do not suit everybody and they are not getting anywhere near the amount of viewers they would need to if they were the sole provider. The Beeb win hands down when it comes to delievring to the greater audience and if it wasn't for them, it would now be attracting less viewers than your average Italian football match on Sky sports.