ITV-F1

ITV-F1 was the official Formula One broadcaster in the United Kingdom from March 8, 1997 until November 2, 2008 until it lost the broadcasting rights for the 2009 Formula One Season to the BBC.
ITV gained the rights for Formula One coverage for 1997 in late 1995 from the BBC and focused on more in-depth coverage, conducting more interviews and gaining access to better camera angles. The coverage was initially presented by Jim Rosenthal with veteran commentator Murray Walker and former racing driver Martin Brundle being the initial commentators before Walker's retirement after the 2001 United States Grand Prix and was succeeded by pit-lane reporter James Allen. Rosenthal left in 2005 and was succeeded by Steve Rider who presented the coverage until ITV ceased to broadcast Formula One after 2008. Formula One coverage returned to the BBC in 2009 for ITV to focus on more extensive coverage of UEFA Champions League football matches.
The programme was successful in collecting three consecutive BAFTA awards for sporting coverage but also garnered criticism for showing advertisements during their coverage along with their handling of competitions held by the broadcaster.
==Commentary Line-Up==
Role 	Name 	Duration
Anchor 	Jim Rosenthal 	1997–2005
Anchor 	Steve Rider 	2006–2008
Pundit 	Simon Taylor 	1997
Pundit 	Tony Jardine 	1997–2005
Pundit 	Mark Blundell 	2006–2008
Pit Lane Reporter	James Allen 	1997–2001
Pit Lane Reporter	Ted Kravitz 	2001–2008
Paddock Reporter 	Louise Goodman	1997–2008
Lead Commentator 	Murray Walker 	1997–2001
Lead Commentator 	James Allen 	2001–2008
Co-Commentator 	Martin Brundle	1997–2008
==See also==
* BBC Sport F1
* Sky Sports F1
* Channel 4 F1
* F1 on Cartoonito
==External links==
* Wikipedia - Formula One coverage on ITV
* Web archive - F1 2008 Full Races
Category:F1 on TV