It was destined to happen, no more Motors TV in the UK and Ireland. Viewing figures have been on the decline for quite a while, example being – w/e 26 Jun 2016 FIM MX2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (SUN 1500) attracted less than 7000 viewers which is appalling, especially with the amount of production put in by Youthstream and their team. Is this good news for MXGP online? Depends how you look at it, for the ones who want to pay, then yes but for others, they will switch to streaming sites and watch for FREE.
In my opinion the internet is a free platform and always should be, the future for niche sports like motocross is online, with Youtube already paying for content and Facebook looking to do the same in the not to distant future, the guys producing quality will come out on top.
Full story from 516Digital
Motorsport channel Motors TV has ceased broadcasting in the UK and Ireland and is no longer available on Sky and Virgin Media.
Unlike earlier in the year, when the channel was temporarily removed from the Sky EPG, the channel has also ceased to be uplinked to the Astra 2G satellite, meaning there is no outlet for viewers in the British Isles.
Social media feeds abruptly ceased to be updated today (5th July), with no further information about the channel.
Motors TV is based in France, from where it holds licences to broadcast in other countries via cable and satellite. Motors TV France is still reported as being on-air. But the parent company has gone into a safeguarding procedure, which has aspects similar to a Company Voluntary Agreement in the UK that gives the company time to restructure its debt with creditors while it continues trading. The company that owned UK shopping channel Bid TV went through a similar process in the month up to its closure, in a failed attempt to keep the service running.
While no-one from Motors TV has been able to provide any comment so far about the withdrawal of its UK service, the complete cessation of satellite broadcasts off the Sky EPG means it’s unlikely this channel will reappear anytime soon. Motors TV may well be focusing on trying to retain its French core service at the cost of any international outlets. At this stage, it’s too early to say where coverage of events shown on Motors TV will reappear on UK television.
