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F1 back to non-pay TV in Portugal (Eurosport) 2016-2018


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#1 noikeee

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 10:52

http://corporate.eur...detail/?id=4309

 

 

 

Eurosport has added another jewel to its growing portfolio of premium sports properties by securing the exclusive TV and digital rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship™ in Portugal from 2016 to 2018.

 

Probably about 3 people in this board will care, anyway it's nice to have F1 back to a non-pay channel 10 years later (last time was 2006 with public television channel RTP). Ever since it's been broadcasted by SportTV, at the extremely steep price of over 25€/month IIRC... (now of course, SportTV also broadcasts a lot of other things including the Champions League, the Portuguese football league, La Liga, Bundesliga, NBA, WRC, Indycar, Nascar, etc etc).

 

It will be interesting to see if the popularity of the sport picks up again as the majority of everyone I know stopped watching, also wonder what does this mean internationally as we were one of the first nations to move to PayTV, ever since this model seems to have spread to more and more places, rather weird that they're backtracking now. Might not mean much as SportTV have been losing content the last few years and might simply not have had the cash to renew, so this could be an isolated case rather than a trend other nations will follow.



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#2 jonpollak

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 10:55

Person 1 checking in. GREAT News

#3 TheRacingElf

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:02

If there is 1 channel I can't stand it's Eurosport..Commercials every 5 minutes where they only promote their own other sports broadcasts, commentators who have no idea where they are talking about because they have to cover a lot of other sports as well and you are never sure if they are going to broadcast your favourite sport, they always prefer to broadcast Snooker over anything else..

 

But moving away from paytv is a good thing I guess



#4 SealTheDiffuser

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:03

If there is 1 channel I can't stand it's Eurosport..Commercials every 5 minutes where they only promote their own other sports broadcasts, commentators who have no idea where they are talking about because they have to cover a lot of other sports as well and you are never sure if they are going to broadcast your favourite sport, they always prefer to broadcast Snooker over anything else..

 

But moving away from paytv is a good thing I guess

 

I think Eurosport has the best ads.

 

 

And F1 in normal Portugal TV is the sign I waited for.

 

Will be probably not so free like it sounds???

 

Only payplayer?


Edited by SealTheDiffuser, 29 September 2015 - 11:05.


#5 sportingcp

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:07

Ufbr5ej.gif?noredirect

 

Too good to be true.. Hell yeah! But I like the SkySports F1 coverage, now I don´t know what to do.

 

PS: I still remember watching F1 in RTP.



#6 SophieB

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:08

Good to hear this news!



#7 Marklar

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:15

Eurosport Germany got the Moto GP rights this year and said first that it will be on free tv. A few weeks before the season start they changed their minds and put half of the races into the pay tv channel. Im just warning...

#8 Retrofly

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:18

Please do this UK!



#9 noikeee

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:22

Eurosport Germany got the Moto GP rights this year and said first that it will be on free tv. A few weeks before the season start they changed their minds and put half of the races into the pay tv channel. Im just warning...

 

Well that's a bit discouraging... at the moment they don't have a pay channel in Portugal, but you never know, that might be the long term plan.

 

Obviously Eurosport don't broadcast on free-to-air, only cable, but SportTV also only broadcasts in cable but with a massive fee for their channels alone on top of the cable package fee.


Edited by noikeee, 29 September 2015 - 11:23.


#10 jonpollak

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:31

Please do this UK!

yeah.. good luck with that !

Jp



#11 ConsiderAndGo

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:32

Please do this UK!

 Will never ever happen. :down:



#12 Kristian

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:34

Hopefully this is the start of a trend back to free to air F1 all over Europe. 



#13 TheRacingElf

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 11:41

Please do this UK!

I understand people don't want to pay the pathetic fees Sky charges but you'll get a huge decrease in quality.

 

Don't really know how expensive Sky is in the UK but the pay-channel who broadcasts F1 in the Netherlands costs 15 Euro a month. To be honest I much rather pay that 15 Euro than having several commercial breaks during the race.



#14 Fastcake

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 12:19

Please do this UK!


British Eurosport have practically no budget whatsoever and have pretty poor production standards. It's not going to happen, and even though it would be slightly more accessible than Sky Sports, losing F1 off the BBC as well would be bad for the sport.

Edited by Fastcake, 29 September 2015 - 12:22.


#15 ANF

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 12:21

Eurosport Germany got the Moto GP rights this year and said first that it will be on free tv. A few weeks before the season start they changed their minds and put half of the races into the pay tv channel. Im just warning...

Yeah. There's no mention of free-to-air or non-pay TV in the press release, is there?

#16 kosmos

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 12:30

Good for the them, in Spain is going to be only pay per view starting next year, death sentence for F1 in Spain.



#17 jonpollak

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 12:32

@ANF : €urosport is NOT considered a 'Pay-TV' broadcaster.

Jp


Edited by jonpollak, 29 September 2015 - 12:32.


#18 ANF

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 12:54

@ANF : €urosport is NOT considered a 'Pay-TV' broadcaster.
Jp

Fair enough. :) But it seems that a channel like Eurosport 360 is only available to viewers who subscribe to a certain (Pay TV) broadcaster...

#19 jonpollak

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 13:00

yeah..I know what you mean...

In TV speak however basic cable or tier 1 satellite reception, although you ARE paying, ain't pay TV as they know it.

 

Jp



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#20 noikeee

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 13:17

I understand people don't want to pay the pathetic fees Sky charges but you'll get a huge decrease in quality.

 

Don't really know how expensive Sky is in the UK but the pay-channel who broadcasts F1 in the Netherlands costs 15 Euro a month. To be honest I much rather pay that 15 Euro than having several commercial breaks during the race.

 

This is true, Sky coverage is excellent, but for us in Portugal even if we get a few extra ad breaks and the commentary gets worse, it's worth it, we're not getting value for money.

 

To put things in perspective, we're paying over 50% of what you pay (and the Portuguese earn less than 50% of what you earn on average anyway), we still get ad breaks, and all the commentators are on studio, nobody flies to the races. The only perk is that we get to watch a whole lot more extra things for the cash. For me those extra things are great as I'm a big football fan, but if you're a F1 fan exclusively and aren't interested on anything else, you're getting ripped off pretty damn badly for a poor quality coverage.


Edited by noikeee, 29 September 2015 - 13:18.


#21 Marklar

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 13:26

Good for the them, in Spain is going to be only pay per view starting next year, death sentence for F1 in Spain.

Combined with Alonsos luck currently....oh dear

#22 chunder27

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 13:28

Can you imagine it

 

Carlton Kirby commenating on F1, the board would be in meltdown!

 

Shaven haven I would go for though, he is one of the most sarcastic and funny comms I hvae heard for a while, shame he has a dullard series to cover!



#23 Marklar

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 13:29

British Eurosport have practically no budget whatsoever and have pretty poor production standards. It's not going to happen, and even though it would be slightly more accessible than Sky Sports, losing F1 off the BBC as well would be bad for the sport.

I guess with the Discovery Channel deal this could change a bit: at least in Germany they got some good things now in their portfolio.

#24 pdac

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 16:12

I understand people don't want to pay the pathetic fees Sky charges but you'll get a huge decrease in quality.

 

Don't really know how expensive Sky is in the UK but the pay-channel who broadcasts F1 in the Netherlands costs 15 Euro a month. To be honest I much rather pay that 15 Euro than having several commercial breaks during the race.

 

To be honest, if there was a free option in the UK that provided live coverage of quali and the race which started 2 minutes before the session, finished 2 minutes after and had no breaks in between, I'd be very happy. I wouldn't worry about the pre/post race analysis. I wouldn't worry about the commentary team. I wouldn't mind less/no on-board camera shots. Just straightforward live coverage with no ads would suit me fine.



#25 10e10

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 18:51

Yes!!! That's great news! Sporttv's coverage isn't that great, and doesn't add a lot of content bar the weekends. For me this is great, meaning that I don't have to lose races when I'm in my relatives' house during the race. Also, the comments quality isn't that great, only when Tiago Monteiro is available that we get some quality and, in my opinion, Eurosport can match that level of quality and, with luck, be even better.



#26 Red17

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 21:01

Throwback to the nostalgia days when pretty much everything with an engine and wheels aired on Eurosport (we had to tune to Sat1 for the DTM, when it was REAL DTM, but that was about it). Now they don't even air the Bobsleigh WC anymore (thank god for the official Youtube channel)

 

Im glad F1 is moving out of Sportv, it's a football channel and they don't give a zilch about motorsports, it was just a way to justify their ridiculous fees. During the 1st year they still flew people to GPs but after year 2 the quality became standard studio talk that we already had when it was free.

 

I hope Eurosport hires up a good pair of commentators, but im very suspicious that the "RTP Gang" will be making a comeback, complete with Paulo Solipa.

 

About a change to pay-per-view, Portugal aint Germany, if they decide to put F1 behind a paywall it will tank unless they charge very cheap for each GP, there isn't enough money around here to support a pay wall business model. But hey... human beings are known for making stupid decisions.

 

 

Anyway, rumour on the portuguese AS forums claims that the "move" was basically Sportv giving up the rights it still held, aparently, they had already lost the country exclusive.

 

Edit: Well... I guess the "3" roll call has been completed now.


Edited by Red17, 29 September 2015 - 21:01.


#27 noikeee

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 21:50

By the way I think the Sport TV commentators have vastly improved ever since they've poached the lead guy from... Eurosport. I don't know his name but I like him as a commentator, instills enough emotion into the race without being over-the-top. Monteiro is great too. The one guy that's way over the hill is José Miguel Barros, hugely knowledgeable but just too old to be speaking on live TV. The early days of SportTV where he was the lead commentator next to Monteiro was SO boring to listen to.

 

A return to Solipa and whoever the hell were the others in the RTP days would definitely be a step behind.



#28 jonpollak

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Posted 29 September 2015 - 23:41

Força Discovery...

Jp



#29 MarkRaishbrook

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Posted 30 September 2015 - 15:47

Excellent news! I still remember when we had F1 on Eurosport here in Portugal 20 years ago with Ben Edwards and John Watson. 



#30 MarkRaishbrook

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Posted 30 September 2015 - 15:49

By the way I think the Sport TV commentators have vastly improved ever since they've poached the lead guy from... Eurosport. I don't know his name but I like him as a commentator, instills enough emotion into the race without being over-the-top. Monteiro is great too. The one guy that's way over the hill is José Miguel Barros, hugely knowledgeable but just too old to be speaking on live TV. The early days of SportTV where he was the lead commentator next to Monteiro was SO boring to listen to.

 

A return to Solipa and whoever the hell were the others in the RTP days would definitely be a step behind.

 

Pedro Nascimento. Yeah, nice guy. Knowledgeable and admits his mistakes. Maybe he'll jump ship back to Eurosport.



#31 milestone 11

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Posted 30 September 2015 - 17:04

Good for the them, in Spain is going to be only pay per view starting next year, death sentence for F1 in Spain.


Indeed but F1 in Spain is Fernando. All of my neighbours followed F1 avidly until Fernando's leaner times, now it appears that F1 is deserted. Same applies to Rafa, without him, tennis just doesn't exist here. I remember seeing fireworks being let off on Sundays amidst the screaming and shouting. Now, silence.

#32 JRodrigues

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Posted 30 September 2015 - 18:02

Well.. the've admitted they don't know how they're going to transmit the GP's (free or charging). I don't know hoe they are in other countries, but our national commentators are very good. In every sport. I really hope they don't go to the pay route. That way I'd have to pay for 3 sports channels! Not good.

About SportTV… i don't think it's that expensive. It has tons of sports.



#33 Spillage

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Posted 30 September 2015 - 18:06

Excellent news, very happy for the Portuguese fans. :up: Hopefully this'll be the beginnings of a trend around Europe!



#34 king_crud

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Posted 01 October 2015 - 08:28

If there is 1 channel I can't stand it's Eurosport..Commercials every 5 minutes where they only promote their own other sports broadcasts, commentators who have no idea where they are talking about because they have to cover a lot of other sports as well and you are never sure if they are going to broadcast your favourite sport, they always prefer to broadcast Snooker over anything else..


Hungover one morning, lying in bed I turned on the tv and the channel it was on was Eurosport. They were showing competitive arm wrestling. During the coverage they had an ad break which showed an upcoming program......team skip rope jumping. What a channel!

#35 Red17

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Posted 10 March 2016 - 19:45

Information on the season coverage coming in "following hours" according to portuguese media.

 

Yes folks, from the deal anouncement to this day.... only silence.



#36 LeClerc

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Posted 10 March 2016 - 20:13

Please do this UK!

How I long for the days of Eurosport F1 with Ben Edwards and John Watson. That was epic!!



#37 Red17

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Posted 11 March 2016 - 21:11

Well, they kept their word, it will air on Eurosport 2, no paywalls announced but... not every package in Portugal features Eurosport 2, I happen to have it on the player app but not on the TV itself.

 

No RTP boys in sight too.



#38 Archer

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Posted 11 March 2016 - 21:50

Good news for the Portuguese people. In Spain from this year we have no other choice but to pay, it's a shame. Hopefully it won't last, because in Spain the media created kind of a cult to Alonso, so the people only cares about him, not about the sport. Now with the sport in so low state and Alonso with no chances of do something big nobody will pay the greedy fees that Movistar wants. Even less having in mind the "free" options to see it nowadays on Internet.



#39 AlexS

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Posted 12 March 2016 - 12:00

I think it is important this is being announced. For example i got nothing from my ISP.


Edited by AlexS, 12 March 2016 - 12:00.


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#40 Fatgadget

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Posted 12 March 2016 - 12:09

How I long for the days of Eurosport F1 with Ben Edwards and John Watson. That was epic!!

Early 2000s hey.Other motor sports as well all for nish so long as you had a dish pointed at Astra1 or some such satellite!

#41 Kristian

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Posted 12 March 2016 - 12:38

Early 2000s hey.Other motor sports as well all for nish so long as you had a dish pointed at Astra1 or some such satellite!

 

I remember I just used to sit and watch Eurosport all day - that's how I got into Indycar as well. 

 

Ah sadly all gone now. 



#42 Prost1997T

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Posted 12 March 2016 - 12:45

I remember watching some dirt oval racing in Paris on Eurosport, back in the 1990s.



#43 noikeee

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Posted 12 March 2016 - 15:36

Well, they kept their word, it will air on Eurosport 2, no paywalls announced but... not every package in Portugal features Eurosport 2, I happen to have it on the player app but not on the TV itself.

 

No RTP boys in sight too.

 

Just checked, I have Eurosport 2 (although there's no Eurosport 2 HD channel at all even if I wanted to subscribe, so we're losing HD coverage). Phew. This is better for me as I can now watch this at home, only had SportTV at my parents'. Maybe they'll drop SportTV now...

 

Looks as if Pedro Nascimento is going back to Eurosport as main commentator, along with João Carlos Costa (I've no idea who is this guy). Filipe Albuquerque, António Felix da Costa and Tiago Monteiro will all be "guest driver commentators".



#44 Ghostrider

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Posted 12 March 2016 - 16:03

Good news, hope this will start a trend.

 

F1 needs to come back to more accessible channels again to become relevant.



#45 RSNS

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Posted 12 March 2016 - 19:27

http://corporate.eur...detail/?id=4309

 

 

Probably about 3 people in this board will care, anyway it's nice to have F1 back to a non-pay channel 10 years later (last time was 2006 with public television channel RTP). Ever since it's been broadcasted by SportTV, at the extremely steep price of over 25€/month IIRC... (now of course, SportTV also broadcasts a lot of other things including the Champions League, the Portuguese football league, La Liga, Bundesliga, NBA, WRC, Indycar, Nascar, etc etc).

 

It will be interesting to see if the popularity of the sport picks up again as the majority of everyone I know stopped watching, also wonder what does this mean internationally as we were one of the first nations to move to PayTV, ever since this model seems to have spread to more and more places, rather weird that they're backtracking now. Might not mean much as SportTV have been losing content the last few years and might simply not have had the cash to renew, so this could be an isolated case rather than a trend other nations will follow.

Good! I stopped watching some years ago – the price was high, I only followed races, but also the races were becoming less interesting to me. Let's hope I can come to like f1 again...



#46 Red17

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Posted 17 March 2016 - 21:28

Small update. Out of the blue Eurosport 2 HD just appeared on my regular TV service (it used to be part of a complete package). So the player app from the ISP is no longer a requirement.



#47 Red17

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Posted 07 April 2016 - 19:42

The topic's title may need some editing soon.

 

According to the portuguese AS, Discovery wants to have some return out of their investment and are considering moving F1 to a premium channel. The only official confirmation so far is that China will air on Eurosport 2, this is the second smoke sign, one TV operator was already pipping that F1 would soon go back to a Pay Channel.

 

Yep,it was  too good to be true, full races and Qualifying with no breaks and in HD, no doubt they will start charging once the races reach Europe and are more hour friendly.



#48 Marklar

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Posted 07 April 2016 - 20:00

The topic's title may need some editing soon.

 

According to the portuguese AS, Discovery wants to have some return out of their investment and are considering moving F1 to a premium channel. The only official confirmation so far is that China will air on Eurosport 2, this is the second smoke sign, one TV operator was already pipping that F1 would soon go back to a Pay Channel.

 

Yep,it was  too good to be true, full races and Qualifying with no breaks and in HD, no doubt they will start charging once the races reach Europe and are more hour friendly.

Well, I warned you....

Eurosport Germany got the Moto GP rights this year and said first that it will be on free tv. A few weeks before the season start they changed their minds and put half of the races into the pay tv channel. Im just warning...



#49 GoldenColt

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Posted 07 April 2016 - 20:04

Great news!!



#50 Red17

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Posted 07 April 2016 - 20:09

Great news!!

:confused: