New deal for F1 rights announced

Ecclestone on new Formula 1 TV deal

The BBC and Sky Sports will broadcast Formula 1 in the UK between 2012 and 2018 under a new rights deal.

The BBC has been the exclusive broadcaster of F1 in the UK since 2009 but its contract with Formula One Management was due to expire after the 2013 season.

Sky Sports will show every race, qualifying session and practice live.

BBC Sport will broadcast half the races live, as well as the qualifying and practice sessions from those races.

Both companies will broadcast in high definition.

Deal keeps F1 with BBC for longer, says director of sport Barbara Slater

Races screened by the BBC will be live on the BBC Sport website for UK users.

The BBC will have highlights on TV, online and mobile for any race it is not showing live, and all races will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 live.

Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: "We are absolutely delighted that F1 will remain on the BBC.

"The sport has never been more popular with TV audiences at a 10-year high and the BBC has always stated its commitment to the big national sporting moments.

"With this new deal not only have we delivered significant savings but we have also ensured that through our live and extended highlights coverage all the action continues to be available to licence-fee payers."

Races shown live on BBC TV will include the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the Monaco GP and the concluding race of the season.

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: "This is fantastic news for F1 fans and Sky Sports will be the only place to follow every race live and in HD.

"We will give F1 the full Sky Sports treatment with a commitment to each race never seen before on UK television."

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told BBC Sport: "It's super for F1. It will mean a lot more coverage for the sport.

"There'll be highlights as well as live coverage on two different networks now, so we get the best of both worlds."

Christian Horner, the team principal of world champions Red Bull, said it would have been a "disaster" if F1 was no longer on the BBC.

"The BBC sets the standard for F1 coverage across the world," Horner said.

"This is an agreement that safeguards the sport on the BBC, albeit reduced from what we are used to. And Sky opens up new avenues. So rather than losing the sport from the BBC, I think this was the most sensible way to move forward."

Reaction to new F1 rights deal

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