ITV-F1

Country

United Kingdom

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a series about ITV's coverage of Formula One races in the UK from 1997 to 2008. It shows the presenters and commentators who explained the action and interviewed drivers. The series was praised with awards but criticized for its commercials and game shows.

informativeprofessionalfast-pacednostalgicenthusiasticad-heavythoroughcompetitive

What happens

ITV held the broadcasting rights for the Formula One coverage in the United Kingdom between 8 March 1997 and 2 November 2008. ITV gained the rights for Formula One coverage for 1997 in late 1995 from the BBC and focused on more in-depth coverage, conducting more interviews and gaining access to better camera angles. The coverage was initially presented by Jim Rosenthal with veteran commentator Murray Walker and former racing driver Martin Brundle being the initial commentators before Walker's retirement after the 2001 United States Grand Prix and was succeeded by pit-lane reporter James Allen. Rosenthal left in 2005 and was succeeded by Steve Rider who presented the coverage until ITV ceased to broadcast Formula One after 2008. Formula One coverage returned to the BBC in 2009 for ITV to focus on more extensive coverage of UEFA Champions League football matches. The programme was successful in collecting three consecutive BAFTA awards for sporting coverage but also garnered criticism for showing advertisements during their coverage along with their handling of competitions held by the broadcaster. In December 2015, ITV was rumoured to take over the broadcasting rights from BBC from 2016 onwards, after BBC had terminated its broadcasting contract three years early. However, on 21 December 2015 it was announced that Channel 4 would broadcast F1 alongside Sky. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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