It has been reported recently that ITV may be doing away with commercial breaks on their British Formula One coverage, and instead following Germany’s lead by splitting the screen in two. One part of the screen showing the live action, and the other part showing the various purchasing opportunities. This story came from PitPass and via F1Fanatic.
This is welcoming news to me, as adverts have really hindered the viewing of races since ITV took over from the BBC in 1997. The most recent and worst offense of advert interruption came at last years San Marino Grand Prix, where Alonso and Schumacher were locked in battle in the final laps. ITV then cut away to their commercial break and the race finished without witness. Admittedly, ITV did show a replay straight after coming back on air, but it was too late for F1 fans who were already throwing their arms in the air in disgust.
ITV have also recently had a shake-up of the show, replacing the exiting Jim Rosenthal with Steve Ryder, and Tony Jardine has also recently left the show. Now all they need to do is confirm the new strategy on advert breaks and partner Martin Brundle with Murray Walker again in the commentary box.
