JOE was invited to have a chat about the launch of the new Sky Sports channel dedicated solely to F1. Here’s the low-down on what you’ll experience over the coming year. Martin Brundle, Ted Kravitz, and David Croft from Sky Sports F1 HD, Sky’s exclusive new channel dedicated to Formula 1, were in Dublin on Monday to promote the channel.
Starting from March 9, Sky Sports will be hosting a dedicated Formula 1 channel that will bring you closer then ever before to the heart of the sport. Each weekend over the F1 season the dedicated channel will feature in-depth analysis of the race weekend from practice to race day, so you’ll always be in the loop.
You’re probably wondering, ‘how in the name of Jaysus are they going to fill 14 hours of TV for 20 weekends out of the year?’ That’s what we were thinking too, but it looks like Sky Sports has been working hard to gather the info that you may not already know. When the cars are nicely tucked away in their transport trucks the channel will feature in-depth biographies, interviews and archive footage of the teams and drivers, so you’ll get to know all the little details about the guys and constructors you’re watching.
Even fans of all the backroom will be treated to weekly magazine shows giving you all the details about the lesser known folk, from the lads who change the tyres to the guys who sign the cheques.
The new dedicated channel seems perfect both for those with an established interest in the sport and anyone who doesn’t know a single thing, such as ‘what does KERS stands for?’*
Why Sky?
So why should you watch F1 on Sky’s dedicated channel and not on the other main British broadcaster, like you usually do? Well, Sky would seem to have the upper hand as their large team of reporters will be able to cover everything on the day from what’s happening on the track to what’s happening behind the scenes, without ever missing a beat.
Newcomers will be brought up to speed on the sport while the F1 purists will be able to enjoy some of the best commentary available on the circuit. Viewers can enjoy the opinions of some of the biggest names in the sport like Martin Brundle, who raced for eight different F1 teams during his career, David Croft (the BBC’s radio commentator for six years) and Ted Kravitz, who has been commentating on the sport for 10 years.
And that’s not all. A host of familiar faces will be the lining the pit lane and paddocks to bring you the latest news. The likes of Simon Lazenby, Steve Rider, Anthony Davidson, Natalie Pinkham and Georgie Thompson (she’s back!) will be bringing you all the news and events during the F1 weekends. Also joining them is the ex-F1 driver Damon Hill.
Croft, Brundle and Kravitz in Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre
Having Brundle on board means Sky has both a commentator and a seasoned veteran of the sport who will bring you all the information that really matters without any of the boring stuff. Brundle said that he likes to think of himself as a racing driver more than a commentator, so with passion like that you’re guaranteed he’ll have interesting things to say.
The dedicated channel will be provided at no extra charge to all Sky TV customers who take both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 or the HD pack of channels, while an added benefit is that the actual races will go completely uninterrupted by ad-breaks.
To find out more go to www.skysports.com/f1.
* (It’s Kinetic Energy Recovery System, if you’re really interested…)
