Formula One is considering a radical shake-up of its broadcasting model which would make races available live online at the same time as them being shown on television.

At the moment, the rights to broadcast races online lie with each of F1's broadcasters and they have to ensure that the footage cannot be viewed outside their home country as it could reduce TV viewing figures elsewhere.

However, the F1 Group, which owns the commercial rights to the series, is considering removing the online entitlement from each broadcasting contract so that it could charge viewers to watch races live on its own website www.formula1.com.

The plan is buried deep inside the 498-page prospectus for the planned flotation of Formula One on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

On page 144 it states that “we are in the initial stages of developing our digital media assets. The right to stream races online is typically licensed out to our broadcast partners around the world but we may consider changing our model and exploiting them independently in the future. As the exclusive rights holder to the World Championship, we have the benefit of controlling both our online platform and content which gives us a wide range of opportunities to monetise our rights, including through internal and third party solutions.”

It adds that “we will continue to enhance the digital experience over time for our fans by exploring new opportunities including allowing access to premium digital content as well as adding additional language options to our website.”

It would not take a great deal of time to implement the plan because 56 out of F1's 63 broadcasting contracts expire before the end of 2015. Each contract typically has a duration of between three and five years. Competition law in the European Union stipulates that the contracts have to be limited to five years in countries where a race takes place and three years elsewhere.

The catalyst for the F1 Group considering this new approach was its signing of a sponsorship deal with Tata Communications in February last year. Tata became F1's official technology supplier and the deal paves the way for live online streaming of races to a similar standard as those broadcast on TV.

One of Tata's biggest strengths is that it has the largest network of undersea cables in the world. This allows it to transmit data at a far higher speed than by using satellites, as F1 previously relied on, and it also significantly increases capacity.

Tata plugged F1 into its network soon after the deal began and it now has fixed line connectivity at all Grands Prix. Importantly, it is always connected, unlike a satellite which is only on for several hours at a time, and is bi-directional. This allows individuals to demand specific content and potentially interact with it in future. Online streaming of races may be just the first step.

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