Foxtel is in discussions with Formula 1 with regards to increasing the level of coverage Australian fans enjoy.
Earlier this week it was announced that Foxtel had secured a new multi-year rights extension, though details regarding when that agreement will expire was not announced.
Patrick Delany, Foxtel Group CEO, also took the opportunity to announce that F1TV would be included into Foxtel’s IQ boxes from 2023, offering subscribers access to additional timing, and onboard feeds during the race.
Those features are already available to Kayo subscribers, along with a host of additional content such as historical races.
And while that bodes well for Foxtel subscribers next year, there are additional discussions ongoing that could see even more coverage added.
Australian fans this year went without pre-season testing despite F1 enjoying a significant upswing in terms of interest, and the introduction of sweeping new technical regulations.
Coverage was not available on either Foxtel or Kayo, and while F1TV Pro did carry coverage, the service is geo-blocked in Australia.
“We were very interested in broadcasting testing in Bahrain given the widespread excitement heading into the first race of the season,” Delany told Speedcafe.com when asked why pre-season testing was not shown this year.
“The Formula 1 team indicated the testing footage would not be made available to show live to our Australian audiences.
“We will work with F1 with a view of test sessions being available for next year.”
While there was no coverage of the opening pre-season test in Barcelona, the three days in Bahrain earlier this month had a full production.
That included the likes of David Croft among a swathe of others covering all eight hours of daily running across the test.
During Wednesday’s announcement, the Foxtel boss claimed Formula 1 viewers were up 31 percent year-on-year, and noted the impact Netflix’s Drive to Survive series has had.
“It’s bringing a whole new cohort of viewers to us on the live broadcast as well,” he noted.
“For many, the lives of those racers and their teams has become an obsession, and certainly I look at Formula 1 different since watching it.
“We’re seeing a direct impact on subscriber growth season-on-season,” Delany continued.
“Kayo Sport is up 87 percent with the Formula 1 year-on-year.”
He added that Foxtel subscribers would have the F1TV Pro service added next year, though attempts to clarify which features would be available were not answered.
Speedcafe.com contacted Formula 1 for comment as to its position on pre-season testing being unavailable to Australian fans this year, but no response was received by the time of publication.
Formula 1 continues this weekend with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, opening practice for which begins at 01:00 AEDT on Saturday.
