Hamilton helps F1 with TV pay day

LONDON, England (AP) -- Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has a lot to thank Lewis Hamilton for.

The sport's rights holder recently signed a bumper five-year television-rights deal with the BBC thought to be worth up to $300m. Beginning in 2009, it will see Formula One broadcast on the BBC's sport website, radio and television channels.

The extra money offered by the BBC -- an estimated $5m-$10m annually -- appears to have convinced Ecclestone to exercise an option to exit a deal with ITV, a private free-to-air British channel, two years early.

Hamilton inadvertently helped push up Ecclestone's asking price.

At the end of last season ITV said there had been an increase of around 40 percent in the average number of viewers per race to 3.3 million compared with 2006.

Largely attributed to the "Hamilton effect," the sport also saw a five percent boost in its global audience thanks to the tense finish which saw Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso vying for the title right to the end of the season.

Ecclestone said he was excited and that the BBC had some innovative ideas to consolidate and expand its UK fan base.

The BBC, meanwhile, dubbed it the return home of the world's "biggest motor sporting event" after a 13-year sojourn on ITV and is hoping it will attract a large, young male audience.

Justin Walkey, a partner with Bird & Bird and head of their media and sports groups, agreed Hamilton had helped push up audience numbers but there were also other factors in play.

Walkey said Formula One and the Rugby World Cup had helped ITV to a good year in 2007.

The BBC, meanwhile, and Sky had lost out to ITV and Setanta on a deal (worth an estimated $550m) to screen England football matches and the FA Cup for four years from August 2008.

ITV has since also secured the rights to broadcast Wednesday night Champions League football matches. It secured first pick of 18 matches, including the final, in a three-year deal worth more than $300m.

Walkey said it was a "major blow" for the BBC, and left them confronting a line-up without any live football coverage.

"They [BBC] had to get their act together and get some marquee sports."

Walkey said Ecclestone obviously had clear ideas about what he wanted, which probably included no longer having advertisements screened during the race (as a public broadcaster the BBC cannot sell sponsorship rights).

Ecclestone had been quite innovative when it came to packaging Formula One rights for different types of platforms, including the production of high definition coverage and its screening in cinemas, he said.

Indeed, since last year television broadcasters have taken the feed produced by Ecclestone's own company -- Formula One Management -- for the majority of grands prix. This year only the Japanese and Brazilian races will be produced by a local broadcaster.

Previously, the host broadcaster for each race produced the feed -- a situation not liked by other broadcasters as it tended to focus on local drivers.

Walkey said Formula One was dependent on massive amounts of television coverage, which meant Ecclestone could not afford to have it broadcast on a pay-per-view platform in markets like the UK.

"That's the way in which the teams can justify sponsorship which is phenomenally expensive... they just want the largest number of eyeballs."

Walkey said it would be a challenge for the BBC to meet the production benchmark set by ITV, as sometimes it could get a "little complacent".

"In the end the competition [for broadcast rights] brings a better product for the consumer."

 

I can just imagine it!


"It's Hamilton! He's in the car directly in front of himself!"

"There goes Hamilton for his 2nd consecutive win, that's 3 in a row then."

"I can't believe it, Hamilton beached the car in the race he won!"

"Hamilton must have gone off, it's an incredibly slow lap and I can't see him anywhere!" "Oh, Hamilton has pitted!"

"Hamilton has been passed by Massa, Hamilton must be having a seizure."

"It's Kimi in the Ferrari followed by his team mate Massa and just being passed as I say his name by Hamilton, so that's Hamilton 2nd and 3rd then."

"Oh My God Hamilton is on fire, I can't see much through the rain but there is fire at the back of his car" "Oh wait, that's the safety light."

"As Hamilton comes out of the pits, Raikonen is coming down the straight away, there will certainly be a collision here, and they both get through turn one cleanly!"

"Look at that! Hamiltons wheel bling is spinning, how can he continue when the wheel isn't even working!?"

"With the engine freeze Hamilton is driving the identical car as last year except for the wings, computers and the rest of the car."

"Kimi has darted into the pits, the wheels are off and the fuel is going in, Kimi has just set the fastest lap of the race, wait Kimi is in sector 2 and not in the pits and not setting the fastest lap, there's trouble some where and a red flag, a red flag, the race is halted! The race is stopped, oh that's a Ferrari flag and it was Mass in the pits and a Red Bull setting the fastest lap, Oh reverse that!"

"Hamilton is second behind Kimi, third is Massa, Timo Glock fourth and Kovalainen is in fifth in the second Hamilton car."

"Michael Schumacher is in Monaco to watch the race and I wonder if I can get a word in, Hi Michael how do you feel about Massa and his chances at winning the title for McLaren this year next to Kimi?" ~Michael~ "I don't think Massa is in the McLaren car right now. ~Murray~ "He's crashed out then? Let me confirm that."

"Ron, Ron at historic Spa let me ask you how you developed the Ligier team into your fold as Team Principal in the late nineties? ~Ron Dennis~ "I didn't" ~Murray~ "There you have it Ron Dennis keeping tight lipped about the success of his former Ligier team which is now McLaren."

"I don't believe what I'm seeing, Massa has crashed out of the third grand prix of the season, four DNF's and still no points before the fourth race of the year!"

"Fisichella has climbed over one of the Force India cars before the first turn, let's hope it wasn't his own car!"

"Timo Glock has over shot his pit box and can't reverse, I can't believe what I'm saying!"



Murray was great fun!