FORMULA ONE fans will have to fork out £487 to watch every race live in 2012 after today's carve-up by Bernie Ecclestone, the BBC and Sky.
The new seven-year deal allows Skysports to cover all the races while the BBC will only show 10 from each season and post-race highlights of any Grand Prix not shown live.
Unsurprisingly, the decision has resulted in a huge backlash on social media sites and even on the SkySports website itself.
Meanwhile, a blog by the BBC's Head of F1, Ben Gallop, has already attracted over 2500 comments, none of which seem to be in any way positive.
On the blog, Mr Gallop attempts to rationalise the decision by confirming that the races at Monaco and Silverstone, as well as the season finale, will still be shown on free-to-air television.
But his suggestion that the BBC is "sharing the coverage" in "partnership" with Sky simply pays pointless lip-service to the viewer.
For, while Sky is able to tell the whole story of a season from next year, the BBC's narrative will be continually interrupted. As one commenter states below the line: "It will be like reading every other page of a book."
Further on, Mr Gallop also states the BBC has chosen to make this deal because of the necessary cut-backs which it has to make.
"The bare facts speak for themselves," he wrote. "The BBC needs to save money.
"Given the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves, we believe this new deal offers the best outcome for licence-fee payers."
But that comment ignores the fact that, since the BBC regained coverage of F1 from ITV three years ago, it has gone from strength to strength.
The viewer experience has been enhanced by various features including the driver tracker, the screening of practice sessions and the introduction of a post-race forum
Consequently, viewing figures for F1 are at a ten-year high this season as exciting races are overseen by a BAFTA-award winning team, no less.
Indeed, if those were the circumstances for a prime-time entertainment show, would the BBC have been so quick to target it for cost-cutting?
Certainly, this cull is an odd way to reward the likes of presenter Jake Humphrey, his side-kick Eddie Jordan, and commentators Martin Brundle and David Coulthard for their excellent coverage.
But, of course, it is the viewers unable or unwilling to pay for Sky who will suffer most.
Admittedly, shooting down the blog by Mr Gallop is a little like shooting the messenger and undoubtedly a large share of the blame must be laid at the door of Formula One Management chief Mr Ecclestone.
Just two months ago after the Turkish GP, Mr Ecclestone seemed to rule out a bid from Sky when the rights were due to be renewed in 2013.
He said: "Sky is doing an incredible job but if you look at their audience figures they are nowhere...It would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors. That would be suicidal."
But that appears now to have been a bare-faced lie from Mr Ecclestone and the feeling persists that he has done this for the benefit of his bank balance only.
Apparently, the teams were not even consulted on the matter but, if they had been, it seems inevitable there would have surely been some major representations.
Perhaps more than in any other sport, the teams rely on their sponsors to meet their running costs.
Any chance of sponsors pulling out due to a dwindling viewership and a lack of exposure would set off alarm bells.
That definitely would have been the case if Sky's F1 coverage is anything like their previous failure to make inroads into motorsport with the dreadful uninteresting A1 GP series.
So, in short, the worst case scenario could be a falling viewership leading to sponsors potentially pulling out meaning teams actually going under.
And what exactly is there to like about any of that?
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