MOTOGP » BBC extends MotoGP TV deal

Belinda,

In the event of not being able to watch 125 & 250 races live, are you able to be clearer with your TV listings on the BBC website as to which interactive channel they will be on please?
I believe you use Freeview channels 301 & 302, but it's never clear which one you will be using, making programming of my system very difficult.
Thanks!

I'm hoping the BEEB will try and secure the services Mr Mamola for their MOTO GP coverage, lets face it, he's a must dont you think. I think Mamola and "GAS IT YANKER" Stavros will make a good team

I agree with earlier comments about whitham, think there is a place for him somewhere on the MOTO GP team. Charlie Cox would be at home on the B.T.C.C. slot yeah.

agree with you Jeff, randy is indepsensible.
however i mean listening to them commentate on the assen race, and the little in jokes and remarks that they were saying, it would appear that none of them has been approached or have been considered for a role within the BBC's coverage.
at least some are some great motorcycle commentry teams in business still, sky sports Speedway GP coverage is amazing to listen too, so i guess ive still got that to fall back on. but unless things change motogp has been a bit ruined for me. coverage and commentry wise.

I suppose i could live without practise and stuff, as long as the BEEB show the main race in full, [[[125/250 race would be nice also]]] i will happy

The BBC have just posted confirmation the news with this bit from Dorna.....

Manel Arroyo, managing director of the commercial rights holders Dorna, said "We are delighted to extend the collaboration with the BBC.

"Thanks to their prestige and their dedication to MotoGP, we are sure that the championship will continue to grow in the UK."

We can only hope things work out for the best. I fear that we will not be seeing the eurosport commentators on the beeb. So ear plugs or cheese will be in close proximity when watching.

Sorry, I have to object to part of that Dorna comment:

"Thanks to their (BBC's) prestige and their dedication to MotoGP"

BBC - Prestige (Money, bigger audience)
Eurosport - Dedication (Full live coverage, practise included)

Any bike racing fan will agree with this. I like the BBC, but I worry how the coverage will fair once Rossi leaves. Eurosport have supported the sport for decades, I just hope the BBC will do it justice.

Belinda,

I've just looked at this years race calendars for F1 and Motogp, yes I am busy at work, honestly.

There are 6 races that clash, can you confirm that on Sundays next year, that F1 will be on BBC1 and Motogp will remain on BBC 2. I am concerned. I understand that the BBC have other programmes to air, other than sport, and BBC 1 will be the preferred channel of use. Therefore, will F1 be on BBC 2 and Motogp may not be shown live or shunted onto BBCI player.

Or fingers crossed we will get a complete sportsfest of F1 on BBC 1 and Motogp on BBC2 on the same day.

Can I just say a big thank-you to Belinda for taking the time to post on this site and answer (some of) the questions people have. I hope this shows you the BBC are interested in trying to find out what thier viewers want.

Like someone said earlier,if you're watching Eurosport now, chances are you have Digital TV on satellite or cable, so the arguement about 'only being able to watch it on interactive, which I don't have' isn't at all valid. I have watched MotoGP on Eurosport since 1989 and I will certainly miss the commentry and all the (mainly) live coverage. However,I WILL still be able to watch the races live,and that's good enough for me.

Louise,the races that clash, are they all in the same time-zone, or possibly evening or early morning start times for one and not the other? A couple of times this year I've thought I'd have to choose one over the other (my preferred choice is MotoGP, F1, WSBK) only to find the MotoGP race has been in Europe and the F1 race's been in another time zone (or vice versa...)