BEN GALLOP – Head, Interactive & Formula 1, BBC Sport

With the current economic crisis have you noticed drops in race attendances this season?

It is a variable picture and really depends on which part of the world you are talking about so Turkey may have struggled to get huge audiences at the track but if you compare that to somewhere like Silverstone and it is still incredibly popular.

Despite the economic climate we know that in the UK, for an event like the Silverstone Grand Prix people are still prepared to pay to go.

I am sure those who run the sport hope that putting Grand Prix’s in locations like Turkey will help build up the support and over the years that will create a large fan base.

With a new F1 race taking place next season in India, is there any worries of a similar situation ahead of the Commonwealth Games this year?

I haven’t been out to Delhi to see the preparations but the people from the BBC who have been there have been impressed with what they have seen already. We will be taking a lot advice from the teams that the BBC had out in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games because the experience that they had is one that we need to learn from. The organisers of this event are very different to the organisers of the Common Wealth games and it seems at the moment things are well in advance with regards to the F1.

We have also just been through the Korean Grand Prix, which was a new circuit and a completely new event and the preparations there were in some respect quite last minute, bits of the circuit were still being worked on in the hours leading up to the cars first going on the track.

As for the Commonwealth Games, when it is a new event and is in a developing country things can take quite along time to get ready, but I think the Commonwealth Games was ultimately a success – it took some time to get everything right but in the end it all came together and I certainly think the Indian Grand Prix should be a spectacular event.

Beijing was notable for the sheer depth of content the BBC had online. Will London 2012 be notable for its interactive elements?

We see 2012 as an opportunity to do even more for our audiences – more choice, more depth and just generally greater access to the content that we have available.

In the past the BBC has shown both the Olympics’ and the Paralympics’ but in 2012 Channel 4 will be covering the Paralympics’. Was this a blow to the BBC and will you be helping Channel 4 with their television and online coverage?

It was a shame from my perspective and BBC Sport’s perspective that we didn’t get the Paralympics because I feel we have a great story to tell around our involvement with that event over the years, the BBC helped put the Paralympics on the map I think.

So it is a shame we won’t be doing it this time around but good luck to Channel Four they have obviously put in a very strong bid and they are committed to it. We are going to have the Olympics on the BBC and Channel 4 are going to have the Paralympics after that – from an audience point of view we are both looking to provide real first class coverage of the events.

There has been a lot of discussion in the industry about The Times etc putting up paywalls. What is your take?

I think any media organisation is trying to come to terms with what is the correct business model is for the web. For some of the newspapers they have decided that a pay model is the way forward. I think it is to early to say whether it is going to work – it is not something that has been done in the mainstream British press before, it has been done with more specialist titles, but in terms of general news it hasn’t been done.

We will have to wait and see over a longer period of time to see if that particular model is sustainable. I would like to think there is a place for all of our media organisations on the web because it is a fantastic platform that really does offer great opportunities.

What would you like to see change in the mindset of the industry with regards to interactive content?

I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next few years with IP TV, there is a lot going on there with a number of different platforms one of which is youview which the BBC is a partner with. I just think the idea of bringing the power of the Internet into your living room through the TV is very exciting.

The other area that I am really looking forward to is around mobile – thinking what we can do with apps and with the rise of smart phones with more people using their phones for more than just a tool for sending text messages or making calls. It is something well worth looking into and making sure we are as head of the game as we possibly can be.

Before joining the BBC you worked for BSkyB, what are the key differences with regards to working for both broadcasting organisations?

One is a commercial organisation whilst the other is a public service but what strikes me more than anything isn’t the differences but it what they have in common. They both have that constant desire to deliver fantastic content for audiences. Both organisations are very innovative and forward thinking, they might go about things in slightly different ways what underpins both of them is the constant desire to be even better than they are at the moment.

as Age: 41 asNationality: British asLanguages: English asFavourite Team / Individual: Tottenham Hotspur / Gareth Bale asMemorable Sporting Event: England winning the Ashes in 2005

 

Ben Gallop’s

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