Our Appeal to Star Sports





We are Formula-1 fans from India and Star Sports is the only way we can watch the races live on our television.

But the coverage from the channel is becoming pathetic with each event. They have starting showing excessive advertising.

We are definitely not against advertising but here are some points we would like to raise:

1. Star Sports is one of the most expensive channels in the Indian market. They already charge a lot for what they show us.
2. They do not mess up their cricket coverage as badly. Why mess up Formula-1 races?
3. The channel shows their own programming promos during the ad breaks. WHY!

Here are some suggestions:

1. Get the sponsoring companies to develop precise ads which are shorter and less irritating.
2. Show 2 ads of 30 seconds each during the breaks.
3. Do not show ads after every 3-5 laps (depending upon the tracks). Previously ads used to come after 10 laps. That was much better.
4. Get back to the coverage if something important is happening on the track. Just like you do with Cricket matches.
5. DO NOT SHOW YOUR OWN PROMO ADS DURING THE TRANSMISSION. It’s a live event. Every second counts.

We welcome you to post your suggestions and complaints below. We need your support to start this movement to get across the message to Star Sports.

We would update this document as per your suggestions and complaints.

Power to the PEOPLE. Amen.


More at: India Broadband Forum.
Send your rants to Steve Slater.

Here is an example. Italian Grand Prix 2009.

First ad break comes after 5 laps. Here is what I saw during the ad break…

1. A promo of Star Sports for their new logo/branding.
2. A promo for the upcoming Cricket Tournament (Champions Trophy)
3. A promo for the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix 2009
4. Tata Safari advertisement

So, essentially they ate up shit load of time for practically nothing.

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rcman
rcman 5 pts

Get Gary Anderson out for good from 2012 F1 coverage..!!!!!!!!!!!

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Wow gold fast
Wow gold fast 5 pts

Ads during live events are silly but it's a business world ! Get on my nerve to see ads when the events are late to show.

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navanit.kamble
navanit.kamble 5 pts

compare it to bbc sports coverage u ll understand

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justperry
justperry 5 pts

You guys seem to be a bit stupid, although what you say may be true but do you really think its 100% Star sports fault?

No, it is not, it is the one who is in control of selling those rights and guess who that is?

Yes its our very Bernie Ecclestone who owns those right and He sucks.

That doesn't mean that Star sports is out of the woods, they signed that F@#king contract.

I am in Indonesia right now, I can see it both on Global Tv (Local Channel) and Star Sports.

Star sports have less adds here than Global Tv but the commentators volume is so low you can't really understand them.

Also they will say on Star sports there is time for ads but they don't give Me any warning on Global.

The comment is good on both but as I said I can't really hear them on Star sports.

A few adds no problem but i am as others disgusted by their promotional Star sports adds, unnecessary.

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hande
hande 5 pts

Star sports is bad, very bad, their is no problem in ads but the broadcast..................., the Japanese grand Prix was so good but the broadcast started half an hour late, 20 laps were over already..........., and same with Korean grand Prix, 15 laps over.........., in previous years star sports was very good, Race day was best, but now nothing....., the channel has become terrible in broadcasting, but for me no worries as i download the full race by torrent.......BBC HD coverage...................., so no problem from 4 to 5 months.........

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newhorizon
newhorizon 7 pts

You're telling me. I'm in India right now and had to watch the British Grand Prix 2011 via this Channel. I miss BBC 1 HD, pure coverage b2b, no ads. I appreciate Star Sports has to have ads but try and limit them to short. F1 is so fast moving ..anything can happen in a few seconds!

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hande
hande 5 pts

Ya, but nothing can be done....... newhorizon

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Fake Steve Slater

Drama on this thread; Please follow: www.twitter.com/f1steveslater

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SG

I just moved to Asia from the UK and I came here looking for a channel to watch f1 on, as I am a huge fan. Looking at this, it won't be Star Sports. I think I will just go with missing the live race and watching a recording from the BBC. Adverts during the race irritated me with ITV coverage in the UK but they didnt do it every 5 laps. Couple that with crappy analysis and then you have to pay for it?

Screw star sports, doesnt look like they will get my money.

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Sid

OK really I'm not sure what you guys are complaining about, try watching some of the other telecasts and you'll realize how much better the star sports coverage of the event is. Agreed the ads are too many for a paid channel but I for one like Steve and Gary, I have no problems understanding them.

My request, please please, show the races in HD, SD on a 120-inch is just BAD!!! I have a TV connection only to watch the race.

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operamaniac

Ah well. A lot of us actually check out BBC Feed after the race is over. And that is MUCH MUCH better compared to what we get on Star Sports.

The frequent ad breaks is a pretty major problem that has continued over the last couple of years. The crappy commentary (personal issue) does not help at all. :)

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Chloe

All star sports should do is shut it down for a week and just re-telecast what BBC sports does to experience the difference. Star sports should be ashamed of what it does to formula1.

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Fraser

Star sports should be ashamed of themselves.
I don't know of any other live event that has comercials.
I'm absolutely disgusted!

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Mayhem

I started watching F1 from 2005 and ever since then i have become a huge fan.I used to even watch all the repeated telecast dosnt matter if i had to stay awake till 4am for it,even if it was a boring race i still enjoyed watching the cars go around...i miss the good old days! Last year and this year the cars look terrible and the last couple of years i havnt seen one single overtaking move that made me go WOW! So aerodynamically i dnt think it had done any good! And speaking of starsports broad cast i think its gone worse ,they really need to throw out paula malai ali,alex young n that sissy palar! Raceday used to be exciting now they are just looking to fill up the time.And whoz responsible for video editing,its sloppy! And my one big personal wish i hope they kick Gary Anderson out i am so sick of hearing him he has no excitement in his voice at all,plus he mumbles too much and he is not even 1 out of 10 to chris goodwin,i hope they bring bak chris goodwin or if not may be they can find someone as good.And one more thing formula1 needs to stop experimenting too much with the rules. Hope writing this much vil not be a waste of time,i hope therz some one out ther who can hear the voice of a true fan!

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Shuvo

Why Brasilian GP's qualifying will not b telecasted?if Star sports can't coverage the whole thing,they should stop keep doing it.it's realy horrible.we never expect it.i realy hate Star sports

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Mayhem

Advertisement and everything else is still ok with me.But i really dont understand why they cant find a better commentator ,im talking about Gary Anderson ,sure hez gol alot of knowledge on the sport but he mumbles too much and he sounds like he just woke up off coma,he absolutely has no energy in his voice.I miss chris goodwin n i hope steve slater lives forever.I hope they replace mr gary next year or i hope the old man dies of a heart attack! No offence gary im just sick of your commentry u r ruening it!

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Adarsh

I can't believe they cut the press conference after the Singapore race!! Missed Webber and half of what Vettel said! Now don't tell me the race was longer due to the safety car period, it's a live telecast, stuff are supposed to happen and the race can get longer. Alex predicted at least 1 safety car period...Nobody believed him or what?

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rcman

Get Gary anderson out from live coverage for good ! not only he mumbles 95 % what is said is no way to understand , the tone is so flat one can't even get any excitment from the live coverage.Star Sport please get more people like Steve Slater and Steve Dawson, we need people like them to tell us with good English for F1 live coverage in Asia.

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Dave

OMG they cut the press conference to show some cricket extra. Missed what Webber had to say. This is ridiculous.

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Sundar Shankar

They had the audacity to broadcast the SAME damned Champions League match on both Star Sports and Star Cricket. In any other country Star Sports would've been brought to its knees for this. Power of the people seems a distant dream here.

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hatessportgroup

Why these star sports gays so keen to broadcast champions league if it is already been broadcasted on star cricket......why cant the telecast F1 qualification ?????? very disappointing!!!!!

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Dave

FWIW, even though Steve Slater is not a pundit, I like his commentry. While Gary Anderson is a F1 pundit, he mumbles all the time and it's hard to understand what he's saying. Alex is great, Steve Dawson and Paula at least get the job done.

But the coverage and ads.... Terrible.

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Dave

For the Singapore race, they're showing Practice 3 Live, but not QUALIFYING???

WTF is wrong with these guys? ... and I don't want to be reminded to log on to Petronas Race Center every 10 mins, Thank you very much.

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Cris

the commentators are terrible - do they not see the same pictures we see? Cannot hear them - especially the mumbly Gary Anderson - why not turn his mike up - at least he makes a bit more sense than Steve Slater

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Kevin P

Why does this happen to only the Asian viewers thanks to the incompetent and useless Steve Later who thinks he knows all but does not know a single thing. He is sure to make @least 10 - 15 amateur blunders in each telecast.. He comes up with all the bits and pieces he finds out being a twitter user and puts them as if he has found them being in so touch with the F1 happenings when everyoen is already aware of it. I wonder whether this guy @least do any home work before the telecast than going through his twitter page to find anything he can find to quote in the telecast. This is so pathetic. Paula thinks F1 viewers are interested @ her aging looks.. May be if I see her on a normal week end other than a race week end she would get more attention but she needs to get in to terms that viewers are not impressed by her desperate stuntsbut all they are looking for is a good F1 coverage as in Europe. i hope ESPN Star would stop this discrimination of Asian viewers very soon. Its really Bad and kills the excitement

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Aryaan

Dude, you seem frustrated for nothing.... Watch and enjoy the race rather than focusing in what Paula does... Jeez...Get a life man...!!

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hande
hande 5 pts

I agree with Ayyaan, just enjoy the race and comment on broadcatig @least @least

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Tim

Well, i live in Thailand and the coverage here is just as terrible as in India if not even worse. Today, monday i am going to watch the rerun of the german gp since i had to work last night. As always you really have to check on the starsports hompage if they really is going to show the race or if it´s been cancelled due to some more importent sports like a tennis or baseball. Well i checked and it´s on but when i looked to the left on the screen on the program schedule they actually had a small add saying Alonso is the winner of the german gp..WTF, thanks a lot you idiots. How stupid are these people?????. I really cant find anything good with the F1 coverage anymore, they show 5 min then its time for their damn own commercial again, or commercial?? they just show upcoming sports on their channel, over and over again, same adds through the whole race. And they cut the race even if their is something about to happend. CUT. And then you are lucky if you even get to see the replay. 7 min race then add WTF is wrong wit this pathetic sport channel????.

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shantanu

why wasnt qualifying from valencia telecasted today?

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operamaniac

hah. just checked. at least the race would be live.

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operamaniac

Fifa World Cup and Wimbledon... Both got priority over Formula-1.

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HK

The massive logo for the world cup soccer is a huge aggravation since it covers up the face of the right most person / commentator when they show 3 in 1 panels.

it also covers points data for the top 2 rows.

are they INSANE?
this logo dissappears for ads of course!

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Toolman

How is this a petition if Star Sports don't give a d**k s**t about it? Enough is enough, I'm cancelling my subscription as my blood boils each time I have to correct Steve's countless basic blunders and just when you gets thick into the action, we're taken to those useless self promotional ads again and again! I have the unfortunate event having met Steve together with some friends last month. The next time I catches him again, I will let s**t fly...bl00dy amateurs!!!

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operamaniac

Nothing has changed. The qualifying for the first race of 2010 has been the same disappointment. Ads during crucial timings during the session. Tomorrow is going to be worse. Star Sports SUCKS!

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devender

i need free air chhenal in tatasky setup box
please send formula
my mobile no 9875117167

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kiran

yep star-sports suck bigtime

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Hickson

There needs to be a regulation that payment channels shouldnt show ads.
We already pay for the specific channel, why should we pay to view ads and even more ads.
Star Sports telecasting F1 these days is really pathetic.

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Amish

To star sports!

Yes it is terrible.. if u have to show ads then show it every 10 laps and please avoid showing ads of ur own ur own program more than once.

Ads every 5laps = approx 7mins = almost 12 breaks in just 1 and half hr.

It gets so annoying for viewers. Dont just think everything from earning money angle, think on moral angle. We pay you for star sports packages, you are not showing it to us for free. Showing ads is ok but "ads as per ur will" is morally incorrect because we are paying u to see the sport not ads.

Amish

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ajuravi

2009 Season F1 live telecast by Star Sports to Indian Viewers is pathetic and terrible. I did not expect this from start sports where in they are more worried about telecasting ads and showing promos of their own programs during the live race. I dont mind showing ads during the live races but it has to be restricted to the maximum. This year Star Sports is showing ads for every 5 laps approximately for 1 to 1.5 mins. The worst part on those 1 to 1.5 mins ads telecast is that there are showing only 3 commercial ads where as they show other 3 ads on the promos of their own up programs which is really unacceptable during the live race.

In this season of 2009 we have missed some cruical pitstops of the race and some of the key moments of the race. For my TV box i am subscribing to Star Sports which has is the costliest channel in india and still i am not able to enjoy my F1 viewing with Star Sports because of delivering their ads for longer time and bad timing of telecasting the ads.

I request the program director or the management os Star Sports to take out this issues seriously from the viewers point of and do the needful atleast for the next season.

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~hami~

Yes, Star Sports has ruined the experience of F1 fans in India.
Formula one is not like cricket where cars go take a short break for every 5 laps. anything could happen at anytime. such an unpredictable sport makes the f1 fans more attracted to the sport. but instead of giving a good coverage without ads inbetween, star sports has just made our viewing experience bad.
I request F1 fans in India to send emails to star sports to atleast reduce the ads to ads per 10 laps or so atleast pls do this.
if they are still gonna continue showing more ads i am gonna stop subscribing and follow it on live f1 websites and watch highlights later on.
star sports s*cks.

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Zack

I agree.

Coverage is pathetic. ESS (Espn Star Sports) should take a look at BBC or previously coverage of ITV or SKy Sports or Supersport (AFRICA) in other countries ... this list can go on ...almost every other broadcaster is better in F1 Coverage than ESS (Espn Star Sports). F1 and other Motorsports like WRC, Gp2, Le-mans etc etc are given ZERO priority despite ESS having hold on three channels.

Commentary : I have no word to express it. Pure B*llsh*t!. Firstly, get rid of Steve Slater - the old man is just incompetent and useless.

@admin please alter the poll; just make two option YES/NO ;)

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operamaniac

yeah. we hate star sports for terrible coverage of formula-1 races.

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Crazysah

Lets just start a petition. We will get enough signatures! Send it to Paula or Steve or Karun!

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operamaniac

in case you did not notice, this is actually a petition. we just need more signatures to make it a valid one.

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warthog

way to go admin.send this to steve slater.star sports has ruined the f1 experience at a time when its is being viewed by so many indians.

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operamaniac

we need more comments here. we need more votes on the poll. we need more and more hits. we need to make this thing popular enough that it is taken as THE petition against Star Sports.

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