German Free-To-Air TV Channel RTL Tightens F1 Broadcasts In '15 After Falling Ratings

German free-to-air TV channel RTL "will tighten its F1 coverage this year after a drastic ratings decline in '14," according to Alexander Krei of DWDL. The '15 season "will be the 25th in a row for RTL, but it could be a game-changing one as the contract between F1 and the Cologne-based channels expires at the end of the season." Starting with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, RTL "will start its coverage not 75 minutes prior to the start of the race but only an hour" before the red lights go off. RTL Sports Dir Manfred Loppe said, "We asked the viewers last year and they gave a clear answer: compact, entertaining and competent." In addition, RTL "will also shorten its post-race coverage and qualifying." RTL "recently suffered a dramatic decrease in viewership." With an average of 4.36 million viewers per race, RTL "recorded its lowest viewership numbers in 20 years" for its F1 broadcasts (DWDL, 3/3).