BUDAPEST (Reuters) ? Formula One teams ranged from being very happy to very cautious over news that only pay TV will show all the races live in the United Kingdom from next year.
Subscription channel Sky Sports will show all races, qualifying and practice sessions while the BBC will only broadcast half the races live, including the British and Monaco Grands Prix and the season finale.
It will be the first time that Britain, where most of the teams are based, will not have all the races on free-to-air television and fans forums have already reacted with fury.
"I can understand some of the concerns when the detail isn't there," McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale, a Briton, told a news conference Friday.
"We welcome interest from other media. But the devil is in the detail."
The BBC will have a highlights package for all of the race weekends it is not covering live, which has been underlined as a possible reason why the deal does not breach the secretive Concorde Agreement which governs the sport.
NO CONCORDE?
Insiders say the agreement, which runs out in 2012, includes the obligation to broadcast on free-to-air TV in certain markets but F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone hinted they might not bother with a new Concorde deal.
"I shouldn't worry too much about the Concorde agreement," Ecclestone told a small group of reporters. "We might not have another one."
When asked what all the teams thought of the landmark TV decision, Ecclestone added: "Happy, very happy. "It means a lot more coverage."
Virgin's Graeme Lowdon was less emphatic saying: "I'm a great believer that fans will tell us what they think."
However, the Briton added: "Everything in Formula One changes. Everything moves forward."
Sky has become famous for investment and on-screen technical innovations in sports such as cricket and Renault team boss Eric Boullier was excited by the new opportunities in F1's key UK market.
"I think it is rather good news and should be positively welcomed by fans," the Frenchman said.
Sky Sports, which has revolutionized coverage of the English Premier League soccer despite critics saying it has alienated the common man, is controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
The group had shown recent interest in buying F1 entirely but Ecclestone said the sport was not for sale.
He also said previously that he wanted to keep it on UK free-to-air but has changed his tune and linked up with News Corp despite their abortive bid for overall control.
Sky in Germany and Italy have covered live F1 before.
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