racing
Sky will show Formula 1 races free of charge on YouTube in the future – and is thus pursuing a plan
Two Formula 1 races can be viewed free of charge on the Internet.
© Rudy Carezzevoli/Stringer/Getty Images
The pay channel Sky seems to be getting more and more comfortable with live streams on YouTube. After the first football game ran free of charge on the Google platform, Formula 1 races are soon to follow.
The pay-TV broadcaster Sky is repeatedly taking surprising paths this year. After HSV’s Hamburg city derby against FC St. Pauli was already available for free on YouTube, two Formula 1 races will soon follow. Accordingly, both the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna on May 21st and the Grand Prix of Hungary on July 23rd will be streamed live on the free stream without commercial breaks Sky Sport YouTube Channel. There will be no sublicenses for free TV stations for these races.
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For Sky, the streams on YouTube are an opportunity to reach a younger audience who are not regular customers of the paid offer. According to Sky, Formula 1 is showing “significant increases in viewership” outside of the “traditional Formula 1 fans” that you want to pick up with selected races on YouTube.
Sky has to show Formula 1 races for free – but no broadcaster wants it
According to the Formula 1 license, Sky is obliged to broadcast four of the 23 races free-to-air. At a later date, the broadcaster wants to decide how to deal with the other two races that fall under this regulation.
In previous years, RTL was always the home of the free TV races, but in an interview with the “Picture” A spokesman for the Cologne broadcaster explained that they would do without it in 2023. Sky had therefore asked for around ten million euros for the rights and RTL was no longer willing to respond to this request. According to RTL, the sporting future lies in broadcasting football and NFL games.
From 2025 maybe no more free TV races
It remains exciting to see how the free streams on YouTube develop for the broadcaster. Sky holds the rights to Formula 1 until 2027, from 2025 the number of freely available races will be reduced to a maximum of one “home grand prix”. As things stand today, no race would be able to be seen without a subscription – because Formula 1 is currently not running in Germany.