Complete and utter crap:-
"* Most importantly: The original rights owner reneged out of their deal so Sky stepped in to rescue it. At least someone is still broadcasting all the races (uninterrupted by adverts) live."
While the BBC did renege on the deal, they then proceeded to do a dirty backroom deal with Sky and Ecclestone which excluded other parties who were interested in bidding (Including C4, who would have continued FTA coverage).
"* Some additional points: There is no charge for F1 on Sky if you already have the basic subscription required to watch the channel. Anyone with an HD subscription can watch it for free - no need to get the Sports package."
There is if you don't have Sky Sports or HD (or Sky at all). There are plenty of people who enjoy F1 but cannot afford Sky's prices.
"* The coverage is at least as good as the BBC. The races and qually there's basically no difference. Coverage outside of the race is much extended."
I really wouldn't know. After following F1 for years, I haven't seen a single race this year. I simply cannot be arsed to watch half a season.
"Sky rescued this year's coverage, have done a pretty good job with it and don't charge for it. The latter point is debatable of course but if you accept that Sky were the only viable rescuer then I think the point stands. You can't expect a commercial operator to take over a franchise from a government operator without some form of revenue. Was any other operator willing to take it over? Would they have broadcast the events live and uninterrupted in HD?"
Sky did not "rescue" F1 coverage. They gutted it in their dirty backroom deal which excluded viable FTA broadcasters who could have genuinely "rescued" it. Sky do charge for it, that's what that £40-odd a month debit from your bank is for. Channel 4 were interested in F1, and have gone on record to this effect and, while their coverage would probably have been interrupted with ads this would have been a far less evil than the shit-up we have now.
