Formula 1 has confirmed a May launch for its new Over The Top (OTT) streaming platform, 'F1 TV', with the first live event to be the Spanish Grand Prix.
Currently the service, which was announced earlier this year, has only been available to select beta users, but a full scale launch will take place next month when the series heads to Europe following the opening four rounds of the season.
The service will only be available in select countries due to present regional broadcast deals, with the United States, Mexico, Germany and France the key markets getting access (a full list can be found here), whilst the United Kingdom will have to wait some time due to a previously agreed exclusivity deal with Sky.
The service will offer two subscriptions; F1 TV Pro, the premium tier, will feature live races and all 20 driver-cameras, as well as side-by-side live race viewing and additional exclusive feeds. Subscribers will be able to personalise the way they watch a Grand Prix, the content they view and how and when they access it. All of practice, qualifying and races will be offered live, along with press conferences and pre- and post-race interviews. Later in the season, the main support series FIA Formula 2 Championship, GP3 Series and Porsche Supercup will be added to the service.
F1 TV will initially launch on desktop before launching on Apple, Android and Amazon Fire mobile and tablet devices later in the season. By summer, the service will also be available to fans on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV.
A less expensive, non-live subscription tier, F1 TV Access will provide live race timing data and radio broadcasts, as well as extended highlights of each session from the race weekend. It will also be underscored by unprecedented access to archive video content from the amazing historic archive owned by Formula 1. F1 TV Access will be available on a near-global basis at launch, to complement F1 TV Pro; and will also be added to throughout the season.
"There is tremendous opportunity in the OTT space to provide F1’s avid fans with a unique F1 viewing experience across all devices. With this launch, fans will find an easy to use streaming experience, rich with live and on-demand content available only on F1 TV, all at a great price," commented Frank Arthofer, Director of Digital and New Business.
Pete Samara, director of digtal technology, added: "We are proud to announce the launch date for F1 TV. We have chosen partners who are at the forefront of this sector: among them, Playmaker Video, iStream Planet and Tata Communications. They, like us, are focused on delivering the best OTT experience to our avid F1 fans, the lifeblood of our sport."
