I have DirecTV. I have all the channels. Well, almost all of them anyway. There are numerous sports, news, entertainment, and movie channels. Some of them, such as the horse racing channel TVG, don’t really deserve to be on air. I mean, seriously, who can watching horses running around a track 24/7. It’s not like the horses can give post-race press conferences. They have no personalities. Don’t get me started on the jockeys. All 4’10″ and 76 lbs. of them. That’s the kind a person all men can relate too.
With that kind of low standard for having a TV channel, why isn’t there one for F1? Ok, i can understand it not being available here in the US. But, why isn’t there one at least in Europe. How much content is there on F1? There’s got to be more than enough to sustain a station. There’s probably full races on tape for probably every race since about 1970. How hard would it be to show some of the better ones? Or what about entire seasons? We all know news is slow between now and about a week before the first race. Why not replay great season. Do a race a day or something. That’ll take a couple weeks. Show seasons reviews. Do profiles on teams, drivers, tracks, etc. from past and present. Maybe even have a one hour weekly show in the offseason to keep us up to date on things. Maybe even show tests live. I know that’s a stretch, but it’s a thought.
During the season, there could be race replays, onboard race replays, and alternate angles not shown during the race. If Mr. Howard’s suggestion of recording onboards on every car for entire race was implemented, we could see onboard action of events missed during the regular broadcast. There could be a sort of reality TV show, like Speed Channel has with NBS 24/7. A TV crew could follow drivers and see inside the factories where they make the cars. They could even televise the FIA court proceeding, such as the ones we saw with Renault this year and BAR last year. There are limitless ideas.
With all of the history, personality, technology, and drama that is a part of F1, why has an F1 channel never come to fruition? The answer lies at the top: Bernie Ecclestone.
Bernie is 76. Even in this day in age, that’s getting on in years. He was born in 1930. The Depression was barely a year old when he came around. Hell, they didn’t even have TV’s. Don’t be fooled by that cell phone, his 8 year old grandson taught him how to use it. His dabblings in media include F1.com, F1 Digital for PPV, and some of the current races. F1.com is a crock. Before he took it over, live timing was freely available. Now, you much register to view it. Also, look at the store; $60 for a plain t-shirt with a F1 logo over the heart. You’re kidding right? F1 Digital failed after he couldn’t get enough people to justify the cost. Current races are getting better, but barely. Instead of working with technology, he uses it to try and make the greatest profit at the expense of the normal viewer. He won’t do an F1 channel because it involves something all old people hate, risk. What’s the risk of the store? Sure it’s outrageously priced, but some people will buy it and that’ll make up for people like me who won’t.
We probably won’t see an F1 channel as long as Bernie is around. The initial costs to get it off the ground would be to risky in Bernie’s eyes. In addition, even if it was successful, profits wouldn’t start rolling in for several years. Bernie, frankly, can’t afford to wait that long, literally and figuratively. I hope the day comes when I can watch classic grand prixs, seasons reviews, and a documentary of Ferrari during the 1981 season. If not, I may have to find something more interesting to watch, like that interview with Barbaro when he gets out a re-hab. Time to set the TiVo.
