Johannesburg - Thanks to Formula One's official streaming service now becoming available to South Africans, fans finally have an affordable way to watch races.
Until now sports mad fans have had to either subscribe to DStv's premium offering or head off to friends and family or their nearest pub/restaurant to watch their favourite sport. With prices soon to hit the R819 mark, that’s a lot of lolly if the other offerings don’t interest you.
While subscribers have continuously asked for a ‘custom’ bouquet, or a ‘sports only’ package, the TV giant has dug in its heels, claiming that such an offering wouldn't suit its business model.
This much-disliked monopoly has however taken a hit with the news that F1 fans can now get their fix for as little as R76 per month via a streaming service provided by F1 TV.
In February it announced that the service would now be available local via streaming and it certainly looks good for petrolheads and F1 TV Pro.
The turbocharged version, priced at $44.99 (R682) a year or $4.99 (R75) a month is the real deal, covering every practice session as well as qualifying and the race itself. You’ll also get the radio transmissions between the drivers and their teams and if that’s not enough, F2 and F3 races can also be viewed, along with the traditional Porsche Supercup curtain raiser.
But if that's still too expensive, you can opt for a more basic package called TV Access for $26.99 (R409) per year and $2.99 (R45) a month, but this only allows you to watch race replays. You do still however get on-demand access to all F1 onboard cameras, as well as F2, F3 and Porsche Supercup replays and F1's historical archive.