ITV will take over BBC’s Formula One coverage on free-to-air television in the UK next season according to broadcastnow.
The BBC has recently been covering Formula One since 2009, but will back out of its coverage deal three years early and will not cover the 2016 season.
In 2012, the BBC agreed to share coverage with Sky, reducing costs from £110 million per year to £60 million per year, even if only half the races were televised live on free-to-air. Keeping every race live would’ve meant losing Wimbledon, the world famous tennis tournament.
Like the BBC, ITV will only broadcast half of the races live whilst Sky retain the full calendar and is unlikely to be affected by the change.
“It is difficult to justify spending so much on sports rights and production when the BBC are slashing costs” said one source. The BBC also handed over the Open Golf Championship to Sky a year early in another free-to-air sporting loss.
