22/06/2020
NEWS STORY
A day after German broadcaster RTL announced that it would not be renewing its contract with F1, the sport announced a new, long term, exclusive rights deal with Sky Deutschland that will begin in 2021 and will include Germany's first 24/7 dedicated channel.
The new agreement will bring fans in Germany full coverage of every Grand Prix from the first free practice sessions to the races on Sunday and will increase the breadth and depth of coverage in Germany to a level never previously available.
As part of the agreement, Sky will broadcast four selected races per season free for everyone and will present a 30-minute highlight show after each race on free-to-air channel Sky Sport News HD, a great bonus for those looking to bet on the races that follow. The agreement will also involve more digital and social media content sharing across Sky's platforms, introducing millions of people across Germany to the sport.
The new partnership will build on the relationship Formula 1 and Sky have established in recent years, which, according to the official press release, "delivers high quality and engaging content to millions of fans through all of Sky's different platforms and channels that will engage new and existing fans".
"Sky Sport F1," it continues, "will offer viewers the best television experience showcasing the pinnacle of motorsport ever seen on German TV and will broadcast more Formula 1 content than ever before on German television, including:
Germany's first 24/7 F1 channel benefitting from Sky's international production power with unprecedented access to high-class materials on drivers, teams, factories, archive and many more.
Every race, qualifying, practice and press conference, live in HD with no commercial breaks during the race action.
360° Formula 1 experience on Sky. More digital and social content on Skysport.de and social media than ever before, which together with the free-to-air races ensures that millions of people will have access to the sport they love.
All races available live in UHD for Sky Q customers.
30 live hours of racing action on Grand Prix weekends as well as 800 hours of programming per year.
Formula 1 coverage every day on Sky Sport News HD including racing highlights, documentaries, Studio shows and several special formats.
F1 TV Pro available to Sky Sports subscribers as part of the overall offering in Germany.
THe deal comes at a time Germany no longer hosts a round of the championship, and Sebastian Vettel, who has yet to announce a driver for 2020, is the country's only F1driver currently in F1.
Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights, Formula 1, said: "Formula 1 and Sky have enjoyed a long-standing relationship, working well together to enhance the broadcast offering by providing comprehensive coverage of the sport for our passionate fan base. I am delighted that our work together will continue to build and strengthen the impressive quality of Sky's programming, as well as their digital reach."
Devesh Raj, CEO Sky Germany, said: "This will be the best motorsports experience ever. We know motorsport fans love the way we produce F1 and our commentators have fans all of their own, but now with the first channel dedicated to F1 content on German TV ever we'll give fans more F1 content than has ever been seen on German TV before. With our unique digital content offering and four races free for everyone every year, we will help introduce millions more people to the joy of F1 and help grow the sports across the motorsport country Germany. This exciting new deal shows that Sky is the number one for sports fans in Germany."