Sky Sports F1 coverage in upcoming races

[DGJ111]

The co2 savings are almost nothing, saving money while increasing subscription costs. 
if they can't send a few people to represent the sporting event which is worldwide and the co2 created by the event is enormous where do we go in the future. 
let's have a virtual beach holiday, or just show sim racing and stop the crazy motorsport events altogether. 
The quantity of people on the planet is the biggest issue. 
Giving terrible coverage where all of the presenters just looked awkward, Damon is normally a bit wooden but this was even worse. 
I simply turned it off when they went to the studio and will be cancelling Sky as soon as my contract runs out in June

[Albeds]

I turned off too when it went to the studio.. complete waste of time 

[DGJ111]

On F1TV the world feed has the Sky commentary if you choose it. 
So Sky have some kind of deal already to share the costs. 
as I dont watch anything else on Sky the £60/month is a bit excessive, but to give cheapskate coverage of a major worldwide sport isn't really acceptable 

[AndySCFC]

wow totally flabbergasted by the insanity of most of these comments there is so much wrong with F1 the least of which is whether Sky ~Sports present the pre event discussions from a studio or not.  As to whether sending fewer people on a plane is better than none = gobsmacked plane still needs fuel to fly etc whether 4 Sky Sports presenters or 2 PS I care not one jot about carbon neutral ambitions it just matters so little as to where the presenters are situated and lets not forget post covid this was the norm as no media aloud at circuits BT Sport presented MotoGP from a studio in post office tower for several races in 2020. Also you dont pay a premium for coverage to be "onsite" you pay for the coverage if they had robots presenting it still is just a charge to watch it. Get a grip people and focus on what really maters or as you all keep threatening cancel your subscriptions and watch it elsehwere.

[Brisfrenchy]

So no constructive comment then. I think as customers paying not an insubstantial amount for the content, we have a right to express how that content is delivered. A little diplomacy would not go amiss rather than just having a go at a lot of people who have genuine comments to make.

[Mr+Ramsden]

---

@AndySCFC wrote:

wow totally flabbergasted by the insanity of most of these comments there is so much wrong with F1 the least of which is whether Sky ~Sports present the pre event discussions from a studio or not.  As to whether sending fewer people on a plane is better than none = gobsmacked plane still needs fuel to fly etc whether 4 Sky Sports presenters or 2 PS I care not one jot about carbon neutral ambitions it just matters so little as to where the presenters are situated and lets not forget post covid this was the norm as no media aloud at circuits BT Sport presented MotoGP from a studio in post office tower for several races in 2020. Also you dont pay a premium for coverage to be "onsite" you pay for the coverage if they had robots presenting it still is just a charge to watch it. Get a grip people and focus on what really maters or as you all keep threatening cancel your subscriptions and watch it elsehwere.

---

A very valid argument, and would hold up beter if the studio presentation was any good, but frankly it was way below par

[ChrisV69]

This is the point.

We, as subscribers, are used to race track presentation which provides the theatre and has been the norm. If SKY is going to switch things up, for whatever the reason, they should provide at keast some dynamic between track and studio. They went all in with big is better, it's bland at best. The huge floor is a discration from what they display on the huge monitor that needs people to stand 10 feet apart viewed from a 30 foot lense. An upturned skypad with the odd head and hand appearing? As some have said here SKY should perhaps move to a more technical anlaysis perspective, smaller monitors with descent information for the enthusiasts than taking trackside elements and shoving it in a huge studio. Now, thankfully it will be shortlived but, if they decide to do this more often it does need rethought.

Less studio, less fashon, more tech input, perhaps a complete rethink on how SKY presents based on viewer / enthusiast needs / wants. I don't agree with budget reductions or freezes with F1's inclrease in races parcelled into a Climate argument, it's been presenter demand based and in which case, get peopkle willing to follow the circus. Not forgetting the lack of transparrency here, no-one expected studio content until it hapened. Don't know who they tested this on but they weren't the customer.

[Funkional]

it's not really working, I'm all for supporting working parents but I'm hopeful this studio is temporary.

To cut carbon , just cut back on presenters, starting with Hill 😂

Love the diversity of the team though 

[PeterHa]

I'm glad I'm not the only one to think that the studio elements are awful. I want the team at the track to give a sense of the atmosphere as I can't be there myself. We now watch people on our screen watching other people watching on screen too who aren't there either.   How ironic that in Japan, the studio team spent ages talking about the atmosphere at the track, but they weren't actually there. As we watch on playback, we just fast-forwarded through much of it. Given how boring the races have been (apart from Australia), the discussions and interviews at the track are what would ramp up the excitement and involvement. 

Usually, we find out that the team at the track talks to team members, etc., and so gives a flavour of what's going on. That is almost completely lost. Post-race interviews carried out remotely are stilted. 

I'm not sure we want to continue watching the race presented in this way.

It does seem that viewer comments are ignored, but remember when, after an attempt to get rid of Ted, viewer outrage got him reinstated. They would be wise to remember that they only have their jobs because we watch.

[PeteMarriott]

I agree. This has had a real negative effect on the coverage for me. Having the team trackside is key to putting the viewer in middle of the f1 'circus'. This is a really dissapointing move from Sky. Regardless of what box they're trying to tick. I think its the first time i've ever felt the need to comment in a forum such as this. No doubt this cost saving will be reflected in my subscription cost?! 

[GMCK7071]

I'm really not enjoying the studio coverage , really disappointed to switch on this morning only to find sterile studio discussion which simply does not convey the live action taking place.  I fully understand the sustainability aspect, but this is also cost saving which the end user isn't seeing. I'm sure there is a better balance that can be achieved, at this rate i dont see the point in paying for my subscription next year as I may as well watch the Ch4 coverage later.

[MarkGoldsmith]

---

@GMCK7071 wrote:

I'm really not enjoying the studio coverage , really disappointed to switch on this morning only to find sterile studio discussion which simply does not convey the live action taking place.  I fully understand the sustainability aspect, but this is also cost saving which the end user isn't seeing. I'm sure there is a better balance that can be achieved, at this rate i dont see the point in paying for my subscription next year as I may as well watch the Ch4 coverage later.

---

You do realise this is the last studio based race of the season and that all other races are going back to normal.

This was always the plan as announced by Sky at the start of the season for the 3 flyaway races.

Will be interesting to see what they do for next year with Australia and China being the first 2 races. Being the season opener I'd expect the normal track presence in Australia, and as China is a week later you would also expect that to also be track based. I'd be happy if they chose a couple of the Middle East races to be from a London studio next year (if they need to continue this) as most of those races have always come across to me as quite sterile and less exciting atmospheres as compared to the 3 flyaway races.

Its a combination of net zero and cost saving. With the calendar at 24 races the F1 budget for the season for Sky was also reduced so the studio presenting has led to them being able to have a similar budget for the other 21 races as per previous seasons.

[lettice]

---

@PeteMarriott wrote:

I agree. This has had a real negative effect on the coverage for me. Having the team trackside is key to putting the viewer in middle of the f1 'circus'. This is a really dissapointing move from Sky. Regardless of what box they're trying to tick. I think its the first time i've ever felt the need to comment in a forum such as this. No doubt this cost saving will be reflected in my subscription cost?! 

---

---

@GMCK7071 wrote:

I'm really not enjoying the studio coverage , really disappointed to switch on this morning only to find sterile studio discussion which simply does not convey the live action taking place.  I fully understand the sustainability aspect, but this is also cost saving which the end user isn't seeing. I'm sure there is a better balance that can be achieved, at this rate i dont see the point in paying for my subscription next year as I may as well watch the Ch4 coverage later.

---

Sky have said this China F1 is the last of the recent three F1 races for a while to have the studio set up.
From the next race it will be back to normal with on track punditry and presentation.

Like many of us have done, best way to show your discontent with the studio setup is to send an email to the Sky Viewer relations team to report it;
ViewerR@sky.uk

They do respond to emails and pass onto the Sky F1 team.

[Les+Harrison]

If this is really about net zero and flying etc... can't they just, with a little coordination, fly all presenters and crew on one flight together?

Then perhaps have them stay there and then fly to next venue all together as well?

Yeah I'm sure the response will be that they all, presenters and crew, don't just do F1 for Sky and have other duties... but with a bit of coordination of a skeleton crew going out there that could work maybe?

Can they manage with a skeleton crew? If Ted and Martin can manage their grid walks and notebooks with just them and a camera man I would hope so. 

[tarbat]

I'm back in Sweden this weekend, and the F1TV coverage from the track is excellent, Sky could learn a lot from F1TV. Sure, it hasn't got all the fancy virtual realist stuff that Sky are pushing, but it has real expert analysis and commentary.