[57]

This will be the official 2011 F1 discussion thread.

Here's a summary of what's typically airing for F1 during the typical race week:

Speed for Friday Practice

TSN for Saturday Qualifying

Speed for F1 Debrief of the previous race, usually sometime Saturday or Sunday of race weekend.

TSN for the race on Sunday

Speed often, but not always, carries the race tape-delayed and it sometimes is allowed to air later on Sunday, or later in the week, but record TSN Sunday to get the race live.

TSN2 sometimes airs the race tape-delayed later Sunday - I often record this in case the original were to go long or have issues.

Lastly, on Speed - The Speed Report (Sunday evening & Monday morning), which covers various motorsports for the week in an hour.

The Speed Qualifying and Live Race are blacked out because TSN have exclusive rights for those in Canada.


Useful link for Racing TV Schedules:

http://www.racefantv.com/CDNTV.htm

TSN F1 Schedule

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/schedule/?series=formula_one
Click on the top left of the page for exact schedules as the race draws near.

In 2010, the practice, qualifying and races were not true HD because the equipment at the venues is not HD, however the (upconverted widescreen) picture quality on the HD channels was quite good and some people may think that it's true HD. Sometimes Fox will air a race in true HD with their own equipment.

For 2011, F1 may be in HD. We shall see...

2010 Thread: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=120182

 

[Andrew1]

Another British sports writer seems confident that Jonathan Legard is out at the Beeb.

The news that Martin Brundle will be replacing Jonathan Legard as the BBC's Formula One commentator this season, with David Coulthard apparently poised to slip into Brundle's former role of summariser, is a victory for chatroom agitators and a blow to those who would like to see the corporation maintaining a proper balance between former sportsmen and professional journalists in the commentary box.
Brundle is an excellent analyst, if sometimes a little too inclined to impose a monopoly of wisdom at the expense of genuine dialogue, but it is questionable whether he should ever have been employed by the BBC, given his long-standing commercial relationship with Coulthard and other drivers. And it will be interesting to see whether Reithian values now require the Scot to cut his links with Red Bull, lucratively maintained since he retired from the Formula One cockpit. Conflicts of interest may be a way of life in Bernie Ecclestone's little fiefdom, but that does not mean the BBC has to join in.

For me, the much-discussed issue of a lack of "chemistry" between Legard and Brundle was largely down to a lack of tonal contrast between their respective voices.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/jan/04/josh-mceachran-chelsea-liam-brady

He doesn't say where he got the news. It was reported by the Daily Mail during the Christmas holiday but not in any other major media so there's still plenty of doubt. Oh, and I totally disagree that the lack of chemistry between Legard and Brundle had anything to do with tonal contrast. That's just a bizarre statement.

 

[NB Josh]

So, Brundle is being promoted to play by play? That just seems odd. From what I've heard of Coulthard, I do really like him though.

 

[Pinza]

James Allen would have been a better replacement for Legard.

 

[faston]

Agreed Pinza. As a watcher of the full BBC coverage (including pre and post-race), I will certainly miss Coulthard's good-natured sparring with Eddie Jordan.

 

[Andrew1]

I watched a few pre-race shows on the BBC last year when I was over there. Though I like Coulthard I found him to be rather biased in favour of Red Bull, his former employer.

 

[Dagman2]

HD for 2011?

This looks promising
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88865

 

[Inzane]

Does anyone know what happened to the "Inside Grand Prix" feature they used to air? (I know it was on in 2008 and 2009 for sure, but it was silently dropped for 2010).

 

[753951]

Looks good, but Bernie is know to backpedal when it suits him. Lets hope it's going to happen this time.

 

[Andrew1]

The BBC has confirmed the rumoured changes to their 2011 broadcast team:

The BBC has today announced a new-look TV commentary team for its 2011 F1 season – Martin Brundle will move to the role of lead commentator with David Coulthard joining him as co-commentator.


...Ben Gallop, BBC's Head of F1, says: "We're always looking for ways to take our Formula 1 coverage to another level – and for 2011 we have an exciting new combination in the commentary box.

"We're keen to make the most of Martin Brundle's wealth of broadcasting experience and his popularity with the audience by giving him the role of lead commentator and putting him alongside David Coulthard – one of the biggest names in British motorsport and a skilled race analyst.

"We want to tap into their combined on-track expertise – together, they will provide our viewers with more immediate discussion, analysis and debate as the action happens. The results of screen tests have been very impressive and we are convinced this combination will deliver a fantastic commentary for our audience for what promises to be a thrilling 2011 season.

"The change of direction we are taking unfortunately means there is no place for Jonathan Legard in our commentary set-up. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan for his great work over the last two seasons.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/01_january/11/formula1.shtml

Former commentator James Allen has responded at his blog, and also mentions, briefly, F1 in HD this year:

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/01/thoughts-on-the-changes-to-bbc-f1-commentary-team/

 

[NB Josh]

This will either work great, or horrible. For example, Buck Martinez doing baseball play-by-play is fine, in fact I really like the banter back and forth between him and Tabler. Of course F1 moves at a faster pace than baseball, so using an analyst as play-by-play might not translate as well as it does for baseball. On the other hand, there have been lots of other guys who should be analysts, who get work as a play-by-play and are horrible.

 

[carlost2]

I would've liked to have seen James Allen back but I knew he had no chance of coming back to BBC as he burnt some bridges there in the past. As for DC and Brundle it will be very interesting to see how it works out as they both are very outspoken.

 

[pspoar]

MY vote goes to....

Murray Walker

Really miss the good old days with his commentary.....Here's a couple for memory lane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0TZ_YLQSgg

 

[GDX]

Good news: after a number of rumors HD is finally confirmed for 2011. According to Autosport, FOM has confirmed that all broadcasters will receive the HD feed this year.

Better late than never...

 

[brintdw]

I really wish that TSN would offer up some of the pre-race content. Qualifying sessions are great but on race day they mostly just launch right into the race and we only catch the very tale end of what was part of the BBC's pre-race show.

Even worse when the commentators refer to something mentioned earlier and we of course didn't see it.

 

[faston]

You're right brintdw, it would be great for them to carry it. In the meantime, you can get it elsewhere. Don't know where you live but here on the west coast, the full race with pre- and post race segments are up by the time I roll out of bed on sunday morning. I watch the pre-race and then sync the two feeds up and watch the TSN recording while listening to the BBC audio so I can just continue watching through the TSN commercials because they leave the feed running in the left box.

ps: great news about the HD!

 

[Biggles]

F1 in HD !! F1 in HD !!
Sweet !

Ecclestone will look even more creepy..

Red Bull's Championship to loose ??

Or will Hammy be more focused and win ??

I hope we have a great fight again.2010 was very exciting.

 

[scotta]

I've seen it mentioned that although F1 will be HD in some markets, the in-car cameras will still be SD for this season.

 

[Dagman2]

You know, kinda sad when you think about it....F1 is probably the last sport to go HD, and even after all this time they still can't get the on-board in HD

 

[scotta]

Contrary to earlier reports, the in-car cameras may be HD after all:
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=397979&FS=F1