Michael Grade confident football holds winning formula for ITV | |
“I think there is more to this than meets the eye,” Murray Walker said after being scraped off the ceiling when he was told that Formula One was returning to its spiritual home at the BBC. The corporation had certainly wrong-footed sports rights observers with the surprise acquisition of the sport in a five-year, £200 million deal.
Formula One, the jewel in Michael Grade’s ITV Sport crown weeks ago, attracting millions to witness Lewis Hamilton’s challenge for the world title, was apparently now a worthless bauble. But Grade confirmed Walker’s suspicions when the results of a sealed bid for live Wednesday night Champions League football matches were released at 7pm by Uefa’s marketing agents. ITV has secured first pick of 17 matches, including the final, in a three-year agreement costing the broadcaster about £160 million.
It was a deal that advertisers said was vital for ITV’s short-term future. Juicy ties involving the cream of British football against European giants attract a minimum of six million viewers. Liverpool’s victory over AC Milan in Istanbul in the 2005 final enjoyed a peak of 14.9 million.
The commercial network could not afford to lose the mass football audience, but Formula One, despite a loyal fanbase, had less growth potential. Early-morning starts for races outside Europe mean that some grands prix play to a few hundred thousand fans, while the production, requiring months of international travel, is expensive.
Source: times | 
21-03-2008
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