The near future of F1 is looking dull..

Caporegime
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But won't almost all of you guys carry on watching it?

I made the switch to casual viewer last year (watching highlights)
Combination of too much tedium, artificial overtakes, no sky TV, overall result kind of known years in advance.

Seems like almost everyone thinks 2016 is an overall downwards step from the threads on here
And then 2017 another downwards step

Just would be interested in seeing how bad it would have to get for you guys to turn off?
 
Soldato
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Just would be interested in seeing how bad it would have to get for you guys to turn off?

I'm a die hard F1 fan. I'll be watching every second of every race, mainly because I like Lewis Hamilton and want to enjoy watching him race and win. I did lapse in the Schumacher era for a year or two, but that was because I was really busy with life stuff and seeing a German winning all the time wasn't fun. So as long as we have British drivers to root for, I'll be watching.
 
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Soldato
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Although I still try and watch every session live, the amount I'm actively watching has decreased over the last couple of seasons.

I think most F1 fans, and sports fans in general, get optimistic about a new season in the hope that this will be the one. It's usually blind faith more than anything through :o
 
Soldato
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It's no longer appointment TV for me any more. Since the middle of 2015 I've recorded the races and skipped through them later in the evening. I don't even bother watching qualifying any more.

It's at the point now where I'm honestly more looking forward to Blancpain and WEC this year.
 
Caporegime
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So really it although it isn't good, the hardcore fans will keep watching.

I wonder on F1 what proportion of viewers are casual?
It doesn't strike me as a casual viewing sport

Also if people are still watching no real need to worry for the owners as money still comes in.

Although does seem a fair few are starting to wane.
Haven't a clue about other countries

Ill also probably watch the opener, Canada and spa.
 
Caporegime
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The number of people watching is not really connected to the money that the sport gets. In fact, I'd say they are probably inversely proportional. Take the UK in isolation, the Sky TV deal brings in a lot more money than the previous BBC or ITV deals, yet has significantly reduced the viewing numbers.

The same is the case for trackside fans. The venues pay their hosting fees, and then recoup that cost by selling tickets. There are queues of places lining up to host a race with government backing where they will happily sell no tickets as the funding for the hosting fee is not connected to the ticket sales.

So at the end of the day, nobody in F1 really cares if we watch or not.
 
Caporegime
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Got you
I knew it wasn't an issue at the tracks
But forgot sky have the clout to just throw money at it to get a few more subscribers
I guess if enough people stopped watching sky they would dump it though.. Although I expect that's a way off
 
Caporegime
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Sky in the UK are just one small part of a much bigger global shift towards pay TV. Without checking the numbers, I think the Sky deal is worth something like $30m a year, out of a total pool of about $500m a year from all the worlds broadcasters.

Sky have less than 1m viewers I think, so way down on what the BBC have. But if your paying your subscription they really don't care if you leave or not. The Sky F1 channel is now only available as part of the whole sports pack too, so I seriously doubt anyone like me, who has no interest in football, is going to buy a Sports Pack just for F1.
 
Soldato
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Since it's become more about efficiency, cost saving and reliability my viewing has also changed to reflect this. I would now record to watch at my own convenience, cancelled Sky to save the cash and if I want reliable entertainment from racing I'll watch another series. I want to watch F1 and I try to, but in the name of safety and cost cutting it's losing the spark.
 
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Soldato
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I think I've missed perhaps a handful of races over the last 10 years.

It can't only be me that finds something oddly satisfying waking up early for the Australian and Japanese GP?
 
Caporegime
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I will get up early on the Friday before Melbourne and watch P1 and P2 back to back (P1 recorded, P2 live). I have done for about the last 10 or so years.
 

JRS

JRS

Soldato
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Really? My memory of the "big spender" era of F1 was of one far more dull than we have now?

Um....this is the big spender era! :p

Williams built and raced the FW14B and FW15C on a budget that would keep RBR in business for nowhere near a full season. Even the Ferrari juggernaut in the first half of the 2000s was less expensive (to the tune of about $100m per year if the popularly-accepted figures are to be believed) than what we have now.
 
Caporegime
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Where are you getting your numbers? The current teams budgets are way down on the manufacturer budgets of the mid 00s. Toyota threw well over $500m a year at F1, and BMW, Ferrari, Renault, Honda and Mercedes (McLaren) weren't far behind. The figures for recent years put the top teams at up to $300m at most, with most of the midfield in the $100m to $200m region.
 
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