Problems began when the pre-race show aired without audio forcing the net to cut to alternative programmingGETTY IMAGES
ESPN has offered an apology after a "variety of technical issues plagued its debut" as the U.S. F1 broadcast partner during yesterday's Australian Grand Prix, according to Matt Weaver of AUTOWEEK. The problems began "almost immediately as the pre-race show aired without audio." This forced the net to "cut to alternative programming until the issue could be resolved and just 10 minutes before 'lights out.'" Instead of "employing an in-house commentary team, ABC/ESPN decided to use the international SkySport team out of Europe" for '18 and beyond. ESPN in a statement said, "We are sorry that our first F1 telecast did not go as smoothly as we would have liked but we are taking steps to prevent those same issues from occurring in the future. We thank the fans for watching and for their incredible passion for Formula 1." The net also "cut to commercial breaks during some of the most pivotal moments of the race, including an important midrace restart following the retirement of both Haas F1 entries." The timing of commercials with "no domestic commentary team to catch fans up on what they missed left many turning to social media for answers." There was also a "digital graphics issue, which failed to replace 'Lastname' with drivers’ actual last names" (AUTOWEEK.com, 3/25). ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Scheduling Burke Magnus tweeted, "We have to do better and we will. @F1 fans deserve the best (TWITTER.com, 3/25).
NOT AN EASY TASK: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Phillip Bupp noted while Sky’s pre-race show "seemed like it had no issues in the UK, as well as in the rest of the world, those in the United States saw a live shot of Albert Park’s Turn 9 with nothing happening, nobody talking and going to commercial twice." This is why there is a "danger when a network simulcasts a sporting event rather than produces their own." But ESPN is probably "saving a ton of money by simulcasting Sky’s feed." Sky’s coverage is "widely regarded as the best" in F1. However, with a simulcast, there is "no communication between ESPN and Sky Sports." So when ESPN goes to commercial and "misses a vital radio message or a big moment, the Sky Sports commentators aren’t going back and letting viewers know what happened because they’re doing a commercial-free broadcast" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 3/25).
