UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB agreed to make its new Formula One pay-television channel, Sky Sports F1, available to cable-television operator Virgin Media from its launch in March.
The channel will be added to the Sky Sports package available through Virgin Media alongside the Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports 4 channels.
Sky acquired the UK rights to Formula One from 2012 to 2018 in a joint deal with public-service broadcaster the BBC in July. The deal will put live Formula One race coverage exclusively on pay-television for the first time in the UK.
Sky will show every race, qualifying session and practice session live, while the BBC will show half the races live as well as the qualifying and practice sessions from those events. The BBC will have highlights on television, online and mobile for any race it does not show live.