MUMBAI: Formula 1 (F1), one of the world's most prized sporting properties, launched its over the top (OTT) service F1 TV last month. The platform comes with two service models - F1 TV Pro (Live) and F1 TV Access (non-live) - at different price points.
F1 TV Pro, the premium tier, will feature live races and all 20 driver-cameras, as well as side-by-side live race viewing and additional exclusive feeds. Subscribers will be able to personalise the way they watch a Grand Prix race, the content they view and how and when they access it.
For now it has been launched on desktops and is available to users on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV shortly. Pricing will be offered on an annual basis of $70-$150, with monthly rates ranging from $8-12.
F1 TV Pro is present in more than 55 territories including Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia and France to name a few.
All of practice, qualifying and races will be offered live, along with press conferences and pre and post-race interviews. Later in the season, the main support series FIA Formula 2 Championship, GP3 Series and Porsche Supercup will be added to the service.
A less expensive, non-live subscription tier, F1 TV Access, is priced at $2.99 per month and will provide live race timing data and radio broadcasts, as well as extended highlights of each session from the race weekend.
It will also be underscored by unprecedented access to archive video content from the amazing historic archive owned by Formula 1. F1 TV Access will be available on a near-global basis at launch, to complement F1 TV Pro and will also be added to throughout the season. F1 TV Access will be present in most of the countries, including India.
According to an official media statement, Tata Communications, F1 business MD Mehul Kapadia, said “F1 is the first global sport to adopt such an ambitious mobile strategy - and we’re excited to be part of it. A single global OTT video platform, with multiple live feeds and hundreds of hours of past highlights, gives fans the power to create their own unique, immersive motorsports experiences. It’s a way to keep existing audiences hooked and attract new fans to the world of F1 too."
Formula 1 director of digital and new business Frank Arthofer predicts that there is tremendous opportunity in the OTT space to provide F1’s avid fans with a unique F1 viewing experience across all devices.
"With this launch, fans will find an easy-to-use streaming experience, rich with live and on-demand content available only on F1 TV, all at a great price,” he said
Formula 1 senior research manager David Bailey informed 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.
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.
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