Fans of Formula 1 and German stakeholders are rejoicing about the sport’s 2024 return to free-to-air television.
December 20: Fans of Formula 1 and German stakeholders are rejoicing over the sport’s return to free-to-air television in 2024.
With Nico Hulkenberg as the lone German driver and no German races scheduled for this year, exclusive pay-TV provider Sky Deutschland saw a concerning decline in viewership for 2023.
By 2024, things will be different. With Germany’s traditional free-to-air F1 broadcaster RTL, Sky has signed a new two-year deal to show seven of the 24 grand prix each season.
“I’m at a loss for words for the first time in my life,” colorful former RTL analyst Kai Ebel said to the Kolner Express newspaper.
“Although I already have a number of projects planned for 2024, working in Formula 1 would be wonderful because it’s my life.”
Hulkenberg calls the development “great news” as well.”As a German F1 driver, I am of course pleased that the sport will once again gain visibility among the masses in my home country,” he stated to RTL.
“It’s an important step after the relevance of the sport in this country declined in recent years.”
Dr. Helmut Marko, an Austrian advisor to Red Bull, even said, “I am very happy that RTL, which made Formula 1 so popular in Germany, is coming back.
“”Seven races on free TV will certainly help ensure that the boom that is shaping Formula 1 worldwide will also have positive effects in Germany.”
