The announcement that the new season of Formula 1 would be split between both BBC and the pay-TV channels of Sky Sports came as unwelcome news to racing fans who'd traditionally watched live coverage on free-to-air terrestrial TV. Many 'old school' fans refuse to pay the subscription fees and sign a lengthy contract.

In positive developments Germany's commercial broadcaster RTL has announced that it has secured F1 coverage up to the end of the 2015 season, making this an uninterupted co-operation going back 20 years! Its rights include all competitive elements of a given Formula 1 racing weekend (free practices, qualifying, warm-ups, and the main race including award ceremony).

Receiving RTL Television Germany in the UK is very easy, and you only require a small dish. PLEASE NOTE: Coverage is in German, thought a tip is to listen to UK radio coverage while watching RTL's coverage.

For digital reception we recommend the FortecStar/Ross Digital Satellite Kit for just £59.00.

For HDTV coverage you need an HD+ smartcard, these are combined with set-top boxes (see our HD+ titled products), after 12 months renewal of the HD+ service will be approximately £80 per year, though you will continue to get RTL in digital on an HD+ box for free. Dish-wise a Sky Zone 2 dish with wall mount will be suitable.

You can either self-install the equipment using a compass and satellite meter (eg the Octagon SF-28 or SatPlus Sat Finder Set) or call a CAI registered installer from www.cai.org.uk.

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot be held responsible for changes made by broadcasters. At the date of publishing (13th February 2012) information is correct.

If you have any questions please call us on 0845 130 3111 or email us.