2015 F1 Thread

[Buzzard]

Agree with you on this one eastwest101, I will be one of those fans that will not subscribe to Pay TV just to watch a few races in the middle of the night. Same as my Supercars interest - going, going,........

 

[moa999]

FOM did the same in the UK - split Sky and BBC so it was a matter of time.
Main difference in Aus is the much lower take up of paytv which means the overall audience will drop.

That said for those with Fox and paying HD supplement they get a much better service - ad free, the sky commentary and practices as well.

 

[KLN]

i have Foxtel HD anyway so i'm still happy, but yes, feelthe pain for those who don't.
otherwise you can always use VIPLeague aka VIPBox | VIPBox | VIP Stand | Free Live Sports Streams
we have used this service for many years to watch FP's and postrace interviews.
you have to click thru a few ads, cookies etc, but eventually it works quite well

 

[hummel]

That said for those with Fox and paying HD supplement they get a much better service - ad free, the sky commentary and practices as well.

FWIW I connected up Foxtel on the weekend, went to the local shops and a Foxtel Kiosk, took a box home and 30min was up and running.

I cancelled it 5+ years ago but point was active and figured $60/month wasn't too bad. The superbike/supersport coverage from PI was great, Nascar great etc So already happy with signing up!

Of course I now have to contend with my wife watching Real Housewives now!

 

[eastwest101]

That said for those with Fox and paying HD supplement they get a much better service - ad free, the sky commentary and practices as well.

Oh no argument at all from me there - if you already had Fox for EPL or other motor sports or indeed any other reason - getting the Sky commentary, ad free and practice sessions is clearly an improvement for those that justify the cost and see all or most of the races.

Just for future reference - existing subscribers get F1 at no extra cost? And I assume if the subscriber does not want to pay extra for HD then they still have the choice to view F1 in SD?

My issue is that they need to unbundle it from a lot of stuff that I don't need/want, and make it portable. You can see that Fox had to gimp/compromise the Ten FTA race coverage to a large extent, in order to push people towards the pay TV model. Very similar to the theory of making Y class flying so unbearable that people will pay extra or value add to a more profitable class of service such as Y+, J or F.

As for Ten - I have very little sympathy for them as they will find that their heavily delayed and edited highlight packages will crater in the ratings.

 

[JessicaTam]

Yes _ I don't know why FOM decided to go down the route of putting all the good races on Pay TV and the rubbish ones on Free to Air. With Australia being a difficult market due to small size, lack of competition in the Pay TV industry, a history of bundling and cross subsidization to maximise profit and minimize choice, hampered by internet download limits not seen in other markets and being in a tricky timezone - they have essentially fragmented their own existing but small market into three groups:

1. Die-hard fans whom will begrudgingly take up pay TV subscription service
2. Die hard fans whom will resist paying and find illegal/free online services and still not watch the FTA broadcasts (lost forever to F1 and the Pay TV and FTA businesses)
3. More casual fans whom will lose interest as all the good races are on Pay TV and they can't justify subscribing to Pay TV and cannot access unlimited high speed broadband (again lost to both businesses and to F1)


I am specifically thinking about fans that don't spend every night at home and work on the road or at worksites with accommodation without Pay TV. If they are away from home there is no way they are going to pay for Pay TV subscription in order to see a few races the few times that they are at home. I imagine that the V8 Supercar competition will suffer significant audience loss and sponsorship/advertiser revenue loss as well from this demographic which will then be grist for the mill at contract re-negotiation time where Foxtel will be able to pull out the shrinking audience stats to beat down the broadcast rights payments.

The way it was 'sprung' on the Australian F1 audience is what annoys people the most, and the Ten network is rightly wearing all the criticism for that, at least the V8 guys had the courage to clearly signal their move to the pay tv model more than a year out. It will be even more embarrassing if the Red Bulls and Dan Ricardo in particular are competitive this season as people will all be wondering why we finally have another talented and high profile australian driver that the public will be interested in but the public won't be able to see him race against the best in the world.

Its a predictable, divisive and short term solution to a problem that is their own making, similar to the Superleague fiasco which really just set the NRL business back about 5 years from where it could have been. I think history will show this to be a major blunder by FOM.

I am begrudgingly part of group 1.

 

[Bali Belly]

Agree with you on this one eastwest101, I will be one of those fans that will not subscribe to Pay TV just to watch a few races in the middle of the night. Same as my Supercars interest - going, going,........

I totally agree with the comments but staying, staying....... just have to put up with 10 of the best or so they say

 

[kelvedon]

So can anyone clarify the situation for this Luddite?. I have Foxtel with the sports package, but not HD. Will I be able to watch the Foxtel broadcast F1 races in standard definition?.

 

[JessicaTam]

So can anyone clarify the situation for this Luddite?. I have Foxtel with the sports package, but not HD. Will I be able to watch the Foxtel broadcast F1 races in standard definition?.

Yes. That is the same package as I have purchased.

FWICT, the HD option only adds better definition to (a selection of) those channels you already receive. It does not add any other channels.

Incidentally, for those who have the HD option is it worth the $10/month?

 

[moa999]

Yes. That is the same package as I have purchased.

FWICT, the HD option only adds better definition to (a selection of) those channels you already receive. It does not add any other channels.

Incidentally, for those who have the HD option is it worth the $10/month?

I would say all depends on your TV (is it full Hd) and how far away you sit.

The further away you are the less important the extra pixels are. On a say 55" TV beyond 3m you probably don't need HD

https://www.avforums.com/article/tv-full-hd-ultra-hd-4k-viewing-distance-guide.10704

 

[kelvedon]

Yes. That is the same package as I have purchased.

FWICT, the HD option only adds better definition to (a selection of) those channels you already receive. It does not add any other channels.

Incidentally, for those who have the HD option is it worth the $10/month?

which begs another question. I have heard that Foxtel have discontinued the standard quality box. If this is true, are they replacing those that have mysteriously broken with HD (IQ?) for the original contract price?

 

[moa999]

Just because you have a HD box doesn't mean they give you access to the HD channels

 

[kelvedon]

Just because you have a HD box doesn't mean they give you access to the HD channels

your one step ahead of me!

 

[hummel]

They're also coming out with a new IQ3 box around April.. I didn't want to wait so will just pay the upgrade fee if I feel like it at the time.

First race is getting closer!

 

[KLN]

Put Clipsal on today on Network Ten, and went eww Yuk! picture was cough. searched for One HD,not there, oh well back to Fox. Search thru Fox channels on on Fox 5 HD, hallelujah picture was beautiful! so much better to watch and the coverage has even gone on to 7.30pm with the GT Cars, even better! sorry it's Fox for me at this stage .................. saying that will have to hit the IQ record button as will be at Melboure / Malaysia and Shanghai for the first 3 races anyway. world order has been restored. Motor sport is back for the year!

 

[rogerkambah]

Put Clipsal on today on Network Ten, and went eww Yuk! picture was cough. searched for One HD,not there, oh well back to Fox. Search thru Fox channels on on Fox 5 HD, hallelujah picture was beautiful! so much better to watch and the coverage has even gone on to 7.30pm with the GT Cars, even better! sorry it's Fox for me at this stage .................. saying that will have to hit the IQ record button as will be at Melboure / Malaysia and Shanghai for the first 3 races anyway. world order has been restored. Motor sport is back for the year!

A very sad year for F1 afficionados.

 

[moa999]

A very sad year for F1 afficionados.

Without Foxtel

 

[whatmeworry]

I refuse to give either dwarf money.

 

[hummel]

So I got foxtel for the F1...but I must say I've never watched so much V8s over this weekend.

If the coverage is anywhere as good as V8s I'll be very happy paying $60/month.

 

[JessicaTam]

So I got foxtel for the F1...but I must say I've never watched so much V8s over this weekend.

If the coverage is anywhere as good as V8s I'll be very happy paying $60/month.

I chose not to pay the extra $10 for HD, but am still happy too.