Much like TV killed the Radio Star, ITV killed Formula 1. Their coverage was archiac shit and the races were spoilt every single time by advert after advert. Motor racing and adverts don’t work. Nascar, Indycar are cases in point. Since the BBC took over in 2009 the popularity of Formula 1 has increased enormously, so much so that now Sky are interested, are things about to take a turn for the worse again?

With a deal done and contracts signed Formula 1 fans in the UK can look forward to only being able to watch half the races live with the BBC from 2012 onwards. They spin it as a rights share with Sky. However Sky Sports are already stating that Sky Sports is the only place you’ll be able to watch all the races live. In other words Sky Sports will show every race and the BBC have been left with a few scraps, the rights to show some of the races as well as Sky. Even worse, Sky have already promised the “full Sky Sports treatment”. Shoot me now.

If it’s anything like Indy Racing coverage, we have adverts every 5 minutes not to mention the “Canadian Grand Prix Mega Pit Stop Sponsored By Coke – Too Much Rots Your Guts!” accouncements to look orward to. If they pull out pens and start drawing on screens then I’m sorry but I’m heading straight for the BTCC on ITV4 and not looking back. Don’t get me wrong, there are sports that are very well suited to Sky’s style and they’ve done wonders for football coverage. There are just some things that don’t fit (Fishamania anybody?) and my gut feeling is that Formula 1 is going to be one of them. Frankly I’d much rather watch 20 minutes of highlights 6 hours after the event on the BBC rather than watch it live on Sky Sports, and that’s as an existing Sky Sports subscriber so not paying more for the pleasure. I’ll not even get into the debate about paying £60+ a month to watch channels riddled with advertising (You are paying them to get paid by advertisers. Crazy).

I could be wrong, maybe they’ll have 6 hours of advert filled build up so they can show the race complete but somehow I doubt it. They can’t even show a 40 minute dart match without getting their quota in and I fear this isn’t going to end well. And before people start shouting booo give them a chance, I’m old enough to remember the days of Formula 1 coverage in the UK on Eurosport, I wouldn’t wish that again on anybody.