2012 Formula One World Championship
In July 2011, a joint broadcasting deal for Formula One in the United Kingdom was announced between Sky Sports and the BBC. The new arrangement runs from 2012 until 2018 and will see all practice, qualifying sessions and races being broadcast by Sky, with the BBC televising qualifying and the race live from ten selected venues and extended highlights of the remaining ten on a delayed broadcast. The announcement was controversial, with early promises that the races would not be interrupted by commercials doing little to quell the highly negative reactions from fans and observers. It had previously been believed that the terms of the Concorde Agreement prevented Formula One from being broadcast exclusively on pay-per-view, but the Agreement did not prevent a shared broadcast such as the proposal made by Sky Sports and the BBC. The controversial nature of the broadcast deal led to the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee calling Bernie Ecclestone and "senior BBC figures" including director-general Mark Thompson to answer questions over the details of the broadcasting arrangement. In November 2011, Sky announced plans to launch an additional channel, Sky Sports F1, specifically for Formula One coverage.