Fans angry as ONE bumps Formula One to TEN
Motorsports fans unleash their anger on TEN, fuming over the loss of HD broadcasts and delays in SA and WA.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News, Top Stories
Motorsports fans are fuming with TEN Network over its plans to switch Formula One coverage from ONE to TEN, losing both High Definition and in some cases, Live broadcasts.
From this Sunday night, F1 screens on TEN from 9:30pm instead of on ONE. Bizarrely, the Qualifying Race is Live in all markets on ONE on Saturday, but not the big race.
This results in the coverage airing in Standard Definition and it means viewers in South Australia and Western Australia -including Perth viewers following local lad Daniel Ricciardo- will be unable to see it Live as they have enjoyed on ONE.
The switcheroo comes despite the network having regularly plugged the HD broadcasts on ONE.
On its Facebook page, TEN viewers are fuming:
– So much for live and HD, just lost another viewer. sad as your AFL, and F1 coverage was about all i watched on C10. Now a viewer gone altogether.
– What a joke! Give us live F1 coverage in Perth and in HD
– No. Just no. I take it that TEN are happy for us to use other means to watch F1 since they don’t care? #boycottTEN
– And they will wonder why their ratings plummet due to the majority watching streams online
– Will be boycotting all of your channels and advertisers…F1 deserves to be on HD and live for all states. For shame Channel 10, FOR SHAME!
– Welcome to 2005. Thanks chn 10
– FFS really who makes these decisions? Do they actually watch or understand sport?
– Is a spokesperson for ten/one going to actually explain the reasoning behind this decision? They think more people will watch a netball repeat and a re-run movie?
The move is believed to be ratings driven, to shore up TEN’s dwindling figures on Sunday nights from 9:30pm.
TV Tonight asked TEN about the imminent changes and the fan fury.
A spokesperson said, “As of this Sunday, April 22, Formula One will be broadcast on TEN at 9.30pm. This allows all Australians to access the Formula One coverage in a consistent time slot every Sunday night.”
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44 Responses
Secret Squirrel has already posted all the points I was going to make regarding the start times. Not only am I frustrated at losing the live HD coverage, I feel like we are returning to the bad old days when F1 was on nine and it was 10.30pm on a Sunday night regardless of what time the race was on. I know they want to remove the sport focus on One (because hey, who would subscribe to Fox Sports if there was a FTA sports channel) but does that mean removing sport completely?? “Your motorsport network” my a**!
From the network that interrupted last year’s Masterchef finale with The Renovators comes an equally ludicrous decision. The thought of One screening the upteenth repeat of movies or ’60s and ’70s sitcoms in HD while the F1 is on is utter madness. I wanted One to bid for the NRL rights because I thought they would treat it well by showing it live and in HD but based on this decision, I now retract that endorsement. TEN needs to admit they got it wrong and realise it is best to leave the F1 on One Live & in HD beacuse fans are not going to wait for a delayed telecast in SD when they can watch it live via other means. TEN, we await your response with the correct answer.
You dont see Fox Sports moving their coverage to TV1 or Fox8 because those channels are on the standard package and likely to gain more ratings.
If you have a sports channel, use it – especially when you have taken away the primary channel’s HD bandwith for it!
mobile.twitter.com/tensporttv/status/161695499605381120
mobile.twitter.com/tensporttv/status/158774832119549952
F1 live in HD on ONE. Said so themselves.
#boycottTEN
This is actually good for me because I have Foxtel and don’t get One on it so now I can watch the F1 live if I want. I can see how non-eastern states would be pissed though.
Its just bringing motor sport in line with every other sport shown on Australian FTA TV, when GEM launched they said cricket would be shown in HD and it would be more dedicated to sport,didnt happen,AFL isnt shown in HD. Just have to get used to the fact that Australian TV is run by monkeys
I wonder how many fans spent $30 on the iPhone/Android live timing app. Nice one TEN, thats a whole lot of pissed off people.
Stupid really and in a season which looks like it can be a whopper, last weekends race was one of the best in years.
Thanks for picking this story up, David. There are a lot of mightily p!ssed off people out there.
As for “This allows all Australians to access the Formula One coverage in a consistent time slot every Sunday night” – that is complete BS, made up by some drone who hasn’t a clue.
1. The Euro races and some of the others were always in the same timeslot (8pm in the west, 9:30pm central, 10pm east).
2. It’s not on every Sunday.
3. Canada, USA, and Brazil are not able to be shown at 9:30 on Sunday unless they mean the following Sunday.
This absolutely stinks and I will be watching it live with or without Ten/One.
unisports.me
vipbox.tv
LOL, and my friends keep asking why haven’t I upgraded my old CRT TV to a HD set yet.
This is a prime example of why I haven’t bothered.
Could you imagine Seven showing an Eagles AFL game after it had finished, with constant comments from presenters that the coverage is live and exclusive?
I’d love to chat to the idiot that made this decision, they’re making the presenters, and phone staff answer for them.
Coward.
I will rather watch Qualifying for MotoGP and F1 in HD and Moto3 and Moto2 Races will be all Live on One. They don’t know how important the little word ‘live’ as it can make a huge difference.
Why not try One does the Races for WA/SA/NT and see how the ratings are if they are below your expectations shift it back to Ten for Race Day at 7.30 AWST/ 9.00 ACST. Can’t they shift Modern Family, New Girl or even Touch straight after MotoGP and F1 as this is for WA viewers.
Why change it now as there is only less than 2 years till Analogue Channels are switched off as everyone should have digital by then. We want to see Casey Stoner. Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber Live otherwise you will find out that we won’t even bother to watch the Race. Once we go back to Australasia you will find that One will be doing Live Races
You have got to be kidding me!!!! Nice way to go about destroying one of the best sports you had on ONE and letting us – the viewers – get use to having it Live and in HD – and now this… You may as well just switch ONE off now – it is a useless channel.. What are you going to play there M*a*s*h and Get Smart!!! – why don’t you go and do bewitched marathons on Sunday nights instead.. You just suck
Myself and i suspect a number of people have sent emails to Ten regarding their previous advertising that F1 would be live .If no reply is received in 60 days a complaint with the ACMA will be lodged
I dont consider the Ten masters have any idea what their strategy is. One minute ONE enjoys a premium sports startegy that truly differentiates itself. Then it becomes another General Entertainment channel. Now Ten seems to have an “on and then off again” relationship with Sport. Rule 1 – Sport must be “live”. Rule 2 – Play it with best possible experience – that is HD ! Is that so hard !
The ratings for even the Australian Grand Prix was poor, why don’t they just keep it on ONE for the genuine fans!
I assume the F1 will still be shown live on their iPhone app for those not living on the east coast that want to see it live.
Although I do think its a bit bizarre stopping the live coverage on One.
“A consistant time slot at 9:30”. So I take it for the races that start well after 9:30, we’ll have to wait until the following Sunday so that we can have the privilege of watching it at a consistant time slot.
What a joke. The only reason to watch the coverage on FTA was that TEN were broadcasting it in HD.
I’ll happily watch it via online methods now and enjoy the coverage with, no ads, better commentators and when it’s being broadcast by the BBC, multiple streams.
Such contempt for F1 fans. It must surely mean TEN has absolutely no issue with us using the Internet to get F1 live? The race will be over by the time coverage starts in WA.
TEN’s solution? Avoid the Internet and phone for a few hours. Gee…it’s not like it’s 2012 or anything.
Oh and when the ratings plummet (as we know they will), TEN will drag F1 out and show it at midnight.
On TEN.
With half the race lost to adverts.
Seriously.
Having a regular Sunday night 9:30 slot is great for the casual F1 fan, as it’s a regular time every week and it will actually help people get into the season. But to piss off all the hardcore F1 fans, by cutting out the live HD stuff is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Unfortunately, they really need to show both versions to keep both sets of fans, and TEN/ONE seems unwilling to do that.
Yet another odd decision by some big wig at Ten.They have a sports channel yet aren’t going to show a major sport live,instead dump it on their channel that doesn’t have HD quality.
A bunch of monkeys could do a better job running Ten.
So we are going back 5 years, thanks ten. Or are we getting a better F1 coverage …”Formula One coverage in a consistent time slot every Sunday night.” Every Sunday night? USA, Canada and Brazil 9:30pm? Worlds First!
The telecast worked well on One .This is the 21st century .Why is Ten going back to the 20th century.It should stay live and on One in HD for everyone.The WA fans don’t deserve this treatment either.Ten and One has been bombarded with emails and phone calls as well as emails sent the FOA so hopefully Ten will see sense.Why not just simulcast it on Ten and leave it on One
What a load of crap!
I just wonder what happens in a few races if the ratings aren’t all they hoped, maybe then we have have the race back on ONE in HD?
I just don’t see why they can’t have it one ONE (live for those outside the east coast) and TEN at 9:30?
What percentage of viewers have access to ONE now, I’m sure switching it to TEN might help a view viewers unable to get or afford HD but the majority of viewers not interested in F1 even with 2 local drivers will just go off to one of the other channels.
And all this is from a channel that couldn’t even be bothered to show Avatar in HD!
OK, Ten’s fault it isn’t live nationwide but you really can’t blame them for the HD situation. Stupid regulation means Australia is now pretty much the only country in the world (certainly the only one where HD is established) where the main networks are not available in HD.