Almost a year ago to much fanfare the Foxtel Group announced a multi-year extension of their broadcast rights to the Formula One World Championship. In the same announcement the company promoted a new deal which would include the addition of the F1TV app to the Foxtel box.
Sadly, as the first race of the season gets underway, it seems Foxtel has failed to deliver on that for the start of the season.
Rubbing salt into the wounds of seasoned Aussie F1 fans is the constant promotion of the host broadcaster Sky Sports own “Red Button” coverage which in essence is the bulk of the F1 TV experience.
F1TV is an online subscription service available to those in countries where there is no comprehensive broadcast television deal. It allows users to choose onboard cameras, live race feed and more “channels” on the F1 website.
As Australia has the Foxtel group coverage through Fox Sports and Kayo, F1TV is not available here.
The announcement of F1TV on Foxtel meant a real improvement in the coverage, adding the ability to choose cameras and data using just your Foxtel remote.
Sadly there appears no sign of any additional coverage on the IQ5 box we have for testing, and additionally there’s no sign of additional “channels” on the Kayo Sports feed either.
Kayo Sports is still the best way to watch F1, with four additional feeds available to watch in a split-view format
We will reach out to Foxtel for comment to see just when this F1TV feature is due in Australia.
UPDATE: Monday March 6 – A Foxtel Spokesperson told EFTM “The Foxtel Group was pleased in 2022 to enter into a new multi-year rights extension with Formula 1, which sees Foxtel and Kayo Sports remain the home of F1 in Australia, with live broadcast rights to every practice, qualifying session and race for our millions of sports subscribers.
“We have spent the past year working closely with the F1 on bringing a fantastic bespoke app to our Foxtel customers, and we are in the final stages of field testing. We continue to work jointly with the F1 on this and will announce a launch date as soon as possible.”
Sounds imminent – not Saudi Arabian imminent, but imminent:)
