when you are on a race track, the whole practise sessions are live on the screens, with commentary. how many TV channels actually broadcast it live around the world ? sure there may not be enough audience to justify the TV time, but there sure would be enough fans tuning to Formula 1 website watching. just see how many formums have “Free practice threads” …

100 people spending $5 is a lot better than 5 people spending $50..

Black Zedd’s last blog post..How To Not Get A Promotion

Gale Force F1 were quite ahead of their time when they set up in 1995 with live timing and race results data.However ,the FIA made it difficult for them by denying one of the authors there any press accreditation (weren’t interested in the internet) and then subsequently claiming copyright infringement by having “F1″ or the like in their domain name.

They did have a premium F1 pay TV channel over here in the UK a few years ago where you could choose all sorts of angles on the action and have telemetry.It flopped quite badly though and I don’t think Bernie would repeat that venture anytime soon.

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raj’s last blog post..Hamilton quicker than Schumacher

Here is what I know and how I got to know it in this, warning it a little bit of story…

I was up in Seattle covering a regional software convention a few years back (I think 2003-4ish) writing a story for our state chamber magazine that I help put together.

It was one of those typical meet, greet, and drink sort of functions. EA used to have an office near Seattle, so some of reps and software people were there. I went up to them initially to try to get them to join our chamber. However our conversation drifted towards their games. I mentioned that I really missed their F1 game.

One of them responded in a smart ass sort of way, “yeah we don’t.” They went on how they and the developers they contracted (Image Space out of Michigan ((the same people who do rFactor)) and some place out of England) had a rough go at producing a F1 game.

I know this four years ago and from a couple of their staff in not related to the actual F1 games, but what they said back some general statements, but fit in pretty well knowing the FIA, FOA, and FOM management style:

1: The usage agreement (the guidelines that companies, in this case sporting bodies, give for logo usage and other copyright material within a media such as a video game) were some of the harshest of all the sports governing bodies they dealt with.

2: In this same regard, the F1 people (according to them) were really hard to work with, controlling and demanding that it was their way on how their sport was portrayed.

3: The cost of the exclusive contract they had with F1 was excessive and the production costs really didn’t make the game appealing enough for EA management to continue or to fight for the bid against Sony. I don’t know if this was sour grapes from losing the agreement to Sony, but they sounded pretty disgusted how things went.

I think it is stupid for the FIA, FOA, and FOM to think this way. Why create a barrier to something that will help expand the base and exposure of F1? The NBA and MLB have multiple games out? Look what the Madden games did for the NFL? It absolutely insane. I’ll stop before I get even more frustrated.

Pinacle of technology – 5 year engine freeze, restrictions on materials, restrictions on everything and as it looks also restrictions on F1 management brain capacity

F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of technology, yet the people in charge can barely use a photocopier.

So many other series are doing it better, when will the official F1 website catch up?

F1Minute.com’s last blog post..24-Feb-08: Hamilton Leads the Way at Final Test

oooh, didn’t know that. do you have any more info on this? be interesting to know what sort of things they had issues with.

sidepodcast’s last blog post..Episode 53 – They’ve Got the Drivers, They’ve Got the Money, What Can Go Wrong?

Something else I would suggest for the CVC group is to be more liberal with their licensing rights.. or at least lower the cost, the hassle, and get rid of exclusive rights for things.

For example, EA would really love to do a proper full on F1 game again. Matter in fact, I believe they already sign Lewis Hamilton to be the cover boy and market it. However, since the FIA, FOM, and FOA believe in “exclusive rights” EA has to wait till Sony contract runs out and then they would have to bid on it.

On top of this, from what some of the former programmers at EA told me, Formula One was the worse sport organization to work with by far… they wouldn’t allow many features that you would see in normal games like create a car, diver, or team. Plus they were such as stickler for things, it drove the development team crazy.

This is just one of many examples. If they would stop being a stick in the mud about these sort of things, more people would be exposed to the sport.