RTL renews German F1 TV deal

German commercial broadcaster RTL had agreed a new four-year deal with Formula One Management for the TV rights for Formula 1 in Germany. The deal will run from 2008-2011. The German firm has been broadcasting F1 since 1991 but has struggled recently with a 23% drop in viewing figures in 2007, as a result of the retirement of Michael Schumacher at the end of 2006. Despite this setback the coverage still managed to attract an average live audience of 5.9m viewers, thanks to the culture of F1 that now exists in Germany and the fact that BMW and Mercedes-Benz are both major players. The Germans hope that a new hero will soon emerge to increase the viewing figures and thus the advertising revenues and with Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld there is a chance that Germany could once again have a winner in the not too distant future. Grandprix.com