Cypriot broadcasters are unable to afford rights for this year’s Formula One motor-racing championship, according to the Cyprus Mail newspaper.
Pay-television broadcaster LTV was the most recent rights-holder in Cyprus. Its three-year deal expired at the end of last season but it could not afford to renew the deal. The current economic climate meant that its rivals have also failed to secure the rights.
LTV said that Cypriot viewers may be able to watch races later in the season if the rights are offered more cheaply by the DNK agency, which acquired the rights from Formula One Management, the championship’s global media-rights distributor.
Formula One is on a list of major events that should be broadcast by terrestrial television according to Cypriot law. However, the Cyprus Radiotelevision Authority said the law was in the process of being reformed and added that the regulator could not force broadcasters to televise events if they could not afford the rights.
“The law does apply now, but when it comes to commercial agreements the authority can’t intervene,” the authority said. “They have to pay money to show these events; if there aren’t funds, the channels can’t be forced to buy the rights.”