Sky Italia Gets F1 Broadcast Rights

Sky Italia has secured the exclusive rights to broadcast FIA Formula 1 World Championship races live starting from March 2013, following an agreement with Formula One Management (FOM). 

Italy’s leading pay-TV channel will broadcast all the events of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship live and a national free TV channel, whose constituent parts are yet to be agreed upon by FOM and Sky will broadcast 9 Grands Prix on a live basis and the remaining 11 Grands Prix on a delayed basis. 

Sky Italia has assured that subscribers will be offered the possibility to customise their viewing experience with interactive functionality enabling them to watch races on tablets, PCs and smartphones via the Sky Go service. 

“We’ve worked with Sky Italy in the past and I have no doubts about its standards of production,” Bernie Ecclestone said. “In England we have a similar arrangement that is working very well, increasing the quality and breadth of coverage.” 

Andrea Zappia, Sky Italia CEO, commented: “We are proud to bring the spectacle of Formula 1 back to the Sky Italia platform, with 11 of the GP races broadcast live on an exclusive basis. This agreement with FOM adds to Sky’s already outstanding Sports offer, which was further enriched by the recent purchase of the MotoGP TV rights. These investments show how our company is determined to confirm its leading position in the Italian TV market.”