More insight on the BBC F1 plans

Interesting response to the BBC package announced yesterday.

Interesting response to the BBC package announced yesterday. Quite a few people think "The Chain" is a retrograde step. Andrew Baker in the Telegraph is positively evangelistic about it, reckons it's the greatest theme music ever in a proud BBC tradition of theme tunes. I quite liked the tune to Horse of the Year show, but that's by the by...

Quite a few of you are wondering about the use of archive footage. The standard deal is that you can use anything up to 10 years previous as part of the package. Anything before that and you have to pay extra. BBC may well have negotiated a different deal from that, Bernie does all kinds of individual deals with different broadcasters, but as the Beeb haven't mentioned archive in any of their press materials, it doesn't seem that it was a big priority. I know that they were much more keen to get the interactive offering the best it could be.

Anything pre 1981 is pre FOM anyway, so if you can source it, you can show it.

There are some mixed vibes coming from the newspaper men. It's always odd for journalists to interview other journalists, but The Times has already gone for the new presenter, Jake Humphreys and thinks the public will follow,

"The biggest gamble is Jake Humphrey in the main presenting role. The corporation believes that the former children's programme presenter is a star in the making, but others are yet to be convinced that he is sufficiently “heavyweight” for the role, " says Ed Gorman.

Jake is very ambitious, but he is going to be really tested in this role. I wouldn't want to be presenting a sport I'd never done before, which is hugely complex and changing all the time and also have to keep control of Eddie Jordan. Fair play to Jake if he pulls it off.

The scribes were also taunting Jordan at the launch on Tuesday. A book is running on when the famously foul mouthed Irishman will become the first to get sacked by the BBC. Eddie didn't offer a date, but found the idea amusing.

On the subject of the coverage being Lewis-centric, check out this comment from

Tom Johnson,

"Of course the coverage should be ‘Hamilton-centric’ and it will be if the BBC want to maintain the ratings boost that ITV enjoyed. Like it or not half the audience is there for Lewis and will soon disappear if he’s not heavily featured - just like Spain for Alonso, Italy for Ferrari and Poland for Kubica - face it guys the world’s chauvinistic and to be frank we have a lot more to be chauvinistic about than Poland does with Kubica. Hamilton’s unprecedented feats in F1 should be cause for rejoicing not churlishness anyway for those that can’t bare a british broadcaster majoring on a british world champion, tough! Try living in Spain Italy Germany Brazil Poland or pretty much anywhere that has a top line driver and get real perspective on what bias is."

It's always a mistake to look at the world from your own little bubble and think that is how things are. Hamilton haters are a vocal majority on forums and websites, but you sense that there is a silent mass which far outweighs them among the wider public, people who feel like Tom. Lewis put another 2-3 million on the audience in the last two years and that is why the BBC paid the big dough for the rights. He'll be front row centre in the coverage.