SINGAPORE – Tata Communications is powering the new F1 TV mobile app, which will transform how people are able to watch and engage with the sport. Starting with the 2018 season, Formula 1 will use the app to deliver the action live from every race to fans directly, and expand its reach to new audiences.
Through F1 TV fans will be able to experience the live race action in a more immersive and engaging way through 20 driver cameras. The wealth of video content will give fans the freedom to choose which part of the action they follow at any given moment on or off-track. Practice sessions and qualifiers will also be offered live, along with press conferences pre-and post-race interviews.
A premium version of the app with all of these features, F1 TV Pro, will be available in close to two dozen markets at launch (including Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, Belgium, Austria, Hungary and much of Latin America). It will cost $70-120 per year, depending on market. A ‘light’ version, F1 TV Access, will be available in almost every country around the world. As teens in the US alone spend on average just 14% of their video time watching live TV, the app will allow Formula 1 to reach younger audiences more effectively.
Formula 1 will use Tata Communications’ Ultra Live Video Delivery Network (VDN) to power its new mobile app. These VDN capabilities are underpinned by Tata Communications’ global superfast network, which minimises latency for video content and ensures an immersive, high-quality entertainment experience for fans.
During the past six F1 seasons as the Official Connectivity Provider to Formula 1, Tata Communications has laid the digital foundation of the sport. Together with Formula 1, the company has tested in action technologies such as Ultra High Definition video and live broadcasting over the Internet (OTT), which could enable fans to experience F1 in new ways.