Both Bernie Ecclestone and chairman of the Formula One Teams Association Martin Whitmarsh have said the new deal to split Formula One broadcasting in the UK between Sky Sports and the BBC should be positive for the sport.
From 2012 only 50% of races will be shown live in the UK on free-to-air TV via the BBC, with a Sky Sports subscription required to watch the full calendar of events as they happen. It will be the first time that fans in the UK have had to pay a subscription to watch races live, and it has resulted in a tirade of negative feedback on social media websites such as Twitter.
But Ecclestone argues the new deal is good for F1 and that those without Sky Sports subscriptions will still be able to enjoy the sport via the BBC's post-race highlights.
"It's good for Formula One," he was quoted by Autosport.com. "For sure there are going to be a lot more people viewing, and a lot more opportunities for people to view, so from that point I'm very happy. I've been finalising this all night long and one or two things might change a little.
"Sky will broadcast everything, all the races, live. The BBC will do 50% live, and when it isn't live, they will be putting together a very good highlights package. They may yet do the whole race deferred, we have to see."
The issue is significant for the teams whose sponsorship deals are largely based on the extra exposure free-to-air television offers in major territories. But Whitmarsh believes the new deal could be positive for everyone and said Ecclestone had guaranteed that the full race highlights would be shown on the BBC.
"From what Bernie has said it's better than expected," Whitmarsh was quoted by Autosport. "The BBC will show every grand prix in full, half of them live and half of them deferred, so free-to-air is available to everyone. Sky sound like they are really going to commit to it as well, so it sounds like there is a little bit of competition between the BBC and Sky.
"So overall, from Bernie's view, it will increase the total viewership within the UK. Bernie assured me, and I asked him several times, the deferred coverage will not be highlights, it will be a full race. That, to some fans, will be very important, depending on exactly races they are, so hopefully that means it's a good deal for everyone.
"Based upon that, if it increases the total viewership, and it maintains the ability of free to air for all of the viewing public in the UK, then cautiously it's good news isn't it?"
And Ecclestone said that any clauses in the current Concorde Agreement that don't sit comfortably with the new deal would be obsolete once it expires in 2012.
"The Concorde finishes in 2012," he said. "After then there may not be one, we don't need one. We'll see. But I think this is all positive, and having spoken to the teams, they think it's positive too."
"We do have to do the best we can, and I'm interested in getting the maximum coverage because we have to invest in the future for the good of the teams and for Formula One. I think in the end people will be more happy with this than they are at the moment."
Sky has also confirmed that it will not broadcast advert breaks during the race, restricting them to just pre- and post-race coverage.
Meanwhile, the BBC's head of F1 Ben Gallop said that the decision was made out of necessity.
"And while our coverage from 2012 may not be as extensive as it has been up to now, the bare facts are that the BBC needs to save money," he said. "Given the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves, we believe this new deal offers the best outcome for licence-fee payers."
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