Why RTL is broadcasting five of its seven live races in the 2024 Formula 1 season in a period from July to September, with long breaks before and after
Four months after the 2024 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain, German commercial broadcaster RTL aired a race on free-to-air TV for the first time again at the Hungarian Grand Prix. And now RTL is staying on the ball: the next four Grands Prix will also be free-to-air on RTL before the channel takes a break for almost two months.
But how did RTL come to plan its season in such a way that five of its seven live races can be seen within a few weeks and in a row, while there are long breaks before (since Bahrain in March) and after (until Las Vegas in November)?
“The seven live races on free TV were selected in consultation with Sky Germany before the start of the season.”
As of this year, RTL is again involved in the live broadcasts of Formula 1 as a sub-licensee of Sky and, unlike in 2021 and 2022 with four races each, has received a larger contingent. Around a third of this year’s Grands Prix can therefore be seen on free TV.
The broadcaster explains why the Grands Prix in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Azerbaijan will also be shown on RTL after the race in Hungary: “This year, we have decided to broadcast a block of five highly attractive race weekends in a row in the summer, among other things to offer returning viewers continuity on free TV during a particularly exciting phase of the season.”
In fact, RTL’s agreement with Sky provides for even more Formula 1 broadcasts, albeit behind the paywall: RTL can cover qualifying Saturdays on twelve of 24 race weekends with its RTL+ channel. A further four qualifying sessions have already been shown on free TV in the first half of the season, with one more to follow. This means that RTL offers its audience at least partial coverage of every race weekend
First the retreat, then the roll backwards
And this after RTL had completely said goodbye to Formula 1 in 2023. At the time, an RTL spokesperson explained that the broadcaster wanted to focus on soccer and American football. RTL was thus no longer a Formula 1 broadcaster for the first time in over 30 years.
In 2024, the role was reversed because “Formula 1 is also classic RTL DNA”, as the then RTL Head of Sports Andreas von Thien told dpa. With the “increased number of live races” to seven, von Thien said, RTL wanted to “reignite greater Formula 1 enthusiasm in Germany.”
So far in the 2024 season, however, the figures remain below those of previous years: in the last full RTL year to date, 2020, the broadcaster recorded around four million viewers per Grand Prix. In the current season, RTL was below the two million mark for both of its races.
Dropping viewer figures for Sky
However, the Sky deal is not just about Formula 1 for RTL: the agreement also includes the exchange of soccer rights. Sky finances part of its Formula 1 fees for exclusive rights in Germany until 2027 through the sub-license agreement with RTL and hopes that the RTL broadcasts will also have an advertising effect for its own Formula 1 programs.
So far, however, viewer interest has not increased, on the contrary: Sky’s season average to date for the pure TV audience is around 553,000 per Grand Prix. In 2023, an average of 593,000 viewers watched the races on Sky throughout the year, and in 2022 an average of 748,000 after 699,000 the year before.
