With Sky revealing its dream team last year, it’s the Beeb’s turn to announce the line-up of talented presenters, journalists and experts that will form this season’s BBC F1 coverage.
On the television side, Jake Humphrey remains as the main anchorman. Joining him will be Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard. Expect the usual trio to talk about the latest rumours and news from the pit-lane and paddock this season!
Reporting from the view of the commentary box is the excellent Ben Edwards. His enthusiasm and commentating style is a popular choice with fans and media alike. And when the news was announced last year, his Twitter account gained new followers due to his popularity!
David Coulthard will join Edwards in the commentary box and it will be fascinating how the pair will get on covering the qualifying sessions and the race. Comparisons will be made with DC and Martin Brundle (who is now at Sky) plus the Eurosport era of Edwards and John Watson.
Former Jordan technical director Gary Anderson will provide technical analysis while Lee McKenzie remains as the pit-lane reporter.
As for Radio 5 Live, former ITV commentator James Allen is back behind the microphone. Jennie Gow, who will be reporting from the pit-lane, will join him on the radio waves.
With these new signings, the wealth of motorsport experience is impressive and it will be interesting which media coverage will gain the most listeners/viewers over the course of the season due to the split between Sky Sports and the BBC.
What’s my personal opinion? Both have an excellent team of reporters and with the promise of an expanded coverage available on radio, online plus a dedicated High Definition television channel, I and the million plus of Formula One fanatics are in for a treat this season.
The BBC Sport news story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/16516805.stm
As for the number of races the BBC will cover, here are the details:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/15893254.stm
The BBC has announced that former Jordan technical director Gary Anderson will join its commentary line-up for the 2012 Formula 1 season.
Anderson joins the network as technical analyst, “providing insight from the pitlane on all the latest developments in strategy and technology from the team garages.”
The BBC has also confirmed that James Allen will become the lead commentator for Radio 5 live, with Jennie Gow announced as pitlane reporter.
As announced earlier this year, Jake Humphrey will once again lead the BBC’s coverage on television, with Ben Edwards acting as a commentator.
“We’re delighted to welcome Ben, James, Gary and Jennie to the BBC presentation team,” said the BBC’s Head of Formula 1 Ben Gallop.
“They bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge, and huge passion for the sport which will help bring the season to life for our audiences on TV, radio and online.”
Allen added: “I’m really happy. 5 live is the default setting on my radio at home and in the car, it’s a great institution and I’m proud to be part of it.
“Anyone who has followed my career knows I love a challenge. This is a time of change in our industry and I see great opportunity here, thanks to the unique place Radio 5 live has in this sport.”
Source: Autosport.com
Jake Humphrey pledges that BBC Formula 1 coverage will maintain its high standards despite Sky deal. As taken from Autosport.com.
BBC television presenter Jake Humphrey has promised that the quality of the channel’s Formula 1 coverage will not drop in spite of Sky buying the rights to show all the races live in the UK this year.
The BBC will show 10 races live in 2012 and cover the rest with comprehensive highlights packages shown later on the day the races are run.
But while Humphrey accepts that Sky will throw significant resources into producing a strong product of its own, he does not feel it will have an impact on the BBC’s ability to maintain its high standards during broadcasts.
“I know people are not over the moon about suddenly having every race live on pay-per-view television but it was either the deal that we have or no F1 at all, so I am grateful that we will still get the chance to be at every race,” Humphrey said while speaking on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International.
“Quite often when we had the early morning races [last year] our viewing figures were higher for the re-runs and there are quite a few early morning races where we’ll have a re-run at 1400 and it will be two hours long and so we’ll pretty quickly get into the racing.
“We’ll do maybe a few interviews with the top guys before the start, but post race we’ve got the time to make sure that we interview the drivers that are important, we’ll give David [Coulthard] proper time to watch the race and work out what he wants to analyse and we’ll have the time to create a really, really nice package for the viewers who are watching.”
He added: “After the race we are going to do an F1 Forum whether we are showing the race live or not. We will still do exactly what we do now.
“We will try and offer as much as possible. I think it will be different, but it will still be really strong output.”
Humphrey also argued that the BBC will remain a focus for the teams competing in Formula 1, and that its high audience figures will ensure that it maintains the best access possible to drivers and high profile personalities.
“I think the teams realise that they have to speak to the media and Sky will do hours and hours of coverage and they will do a stunning job because they produce good sports content,” he said. “But the important thing for us is that we are going to have the big audience, we are going to have the millions of eyeballs and that’s what the teams love.
“The reason why Vodafone sponsors McLaren isn’t because of the people in the stands but because of the viewers at home that are watching. We will still be the channel with the millions of people seeing those sponsorship deals on television and because of that there be an onus on the teams to make sure we get that access.”
The BBC will begin 2012 with a revamped presenting line-up that now includes Ben Edwards as lead commentator and analysis from former technical director Gary Anderson. Humphrey believes it is the strongest line-up in television.
“We have got a race-winning technical director, and we’ve never had that before,” he said. “Gary Anderson designed Formula 1 cars that won races; we’ve got a race-winning grand prix driver in the shape of David Coulthard; and a race-winning team owner in Eddie Jordan.
“I also think that Ben Edwards is the best motor racing commentator in the country, and I’m so pleased that we have now got him on the BBC.”