F1: OTT to co-exist with linear
June 18, 2018
By Colin Mann
David Bailey, Senior Research Manager at Formula 1, has suggested that linear coverage of the sport will continue alongside the category’s recently-launched F1 TV OTT service, with the service’s roll-out dependent on broadcast arrangements in respective territories.
Delivering a Keynote Address at the IHS Markit Media and Technology Conference in London, Bailey told delegates that the sport, under its new owner Liberty Media, undertook research into the future of digital content for Formula 1 in 2017, noting that it previous owners had not prioritised that aspect.
One element heavily favoured was OTT streaming, with Bailey revealing that such a service would be aimed at the ‘Excitables’ segment of the sport’s followers as identified in separate research. Bailey admitted that launching F1 TV in a six-month time-frame was risky and that there had been problems with its introduction at the Spanish Grand Prix in May 2018, such as buffering.
Suggesting that there was “more to come” in terms of data that could be made available to F1 TV subscribers, Bailey said that broadcast partners were “hugely important” to the sport and that such relationships would play a role in determining where and when F1 TV would be launched in the future.