F1 deal saves free viewing

FORMULA ONE teams have put the brakes on fears that the sport could be completely lost to terrestrial television in Britain.

A clause buried in the teams’ contracts with F1 ensures that at least one race must be shown live to free-to-view TV each season.

This year Sky Sports showed all 21 F1 races live, while Channel 4 broadcast ten.

That changes in 2019 when Sky begins a new five-year contract giving it live rights to all races, with C4 showing highlights of 20, but only one – the British Grand Prix – being broadcast live.

That angered fans and fuelled fears that the sport could disappear from free-to-air TV completely, especially as the C4 contract lasts for just one year.

But the team contracts outline F1’s obligations and state that it is “not permitted to contract to broadcast events by pay television only in a country with a significant audience if it would materially adversely affect audience reach.”

Britain is F1’s fifth-largest market with 21.7million viewers according to the sport’s 2016 Global Media Report.