BBC expects to walk away from TV deal if F1 breakaway goes ahead

[Somebody]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jun/19/bbc-walk-away-formula-one-contract
The BBC, which is just months into a new £200m five-year contract to cover the sport, is believed to be confident of its ability to walk away from the deal if eight major teams walk away from the sport. Lawyers believe the nature of the product would have changed so fundamentally that under common contract law they would be able to break the deal.

Invoking the concept of "force majeure", they would argue that the product they had signed a deal for in good faith was no longer on offer, due to the fault of neither party. The clause usually applies to acts of God but can also be invoked to cover other unforeseen events. However, it is likely that Ecclestone would challenge such an interpretation, adding to the slew of court cases that would be triggered if Fota acted on its threat to break away.
Well, the lawyers WILL be happy...

[wmcot]

Good! More pressure on Bernie's wallet!

[woody2goody]

Won't be happy about that. The Beeb have done a really good job.

[race_director]

Wish bernie sue ESPNSTAR the broadcaster in ASIA. and it goes bust and never ever they show motor racing in there life

[UltimateDanGTR]

the beeb need to wait and see if fota series becomes a reality, and they need to try and get that if it happens, and id support them all the way to get away from bernie

[tsarcasm]

excellent!!!

time to leave a sinking ship

[woody2goody]

the beeb need to wait and see if fota series becomes a reality, and they need to try and get that if it happens, and id support them all the way to get away from bernie

Yeah spot on there. Really it'll just be F1 with a different name so the coverage could be very similar anyway.

[wmcot]

If FOTA keep their promise with free-to-air broadcasts, that will be sure to attract more sponsors since they'll reach a wider audience. That could be a great money maker for the series no matter which network picks them up.

FOTA will have to pay Bernie for the loss of income.

I can imagine the boardrooms of Toyota & Renault would be thrilled.

[Oli_M]

I would have certainly thought the BBC would be in a very strong position to walk away if 8 teams leave.

Plus, if there is one entity that could have a better legal team than Bernie, it's going to be the BBC.

Interesting to see so many reputable organisations siding with the FOTA break away so quickly. Bodes well for the future.

[Daika]

Can't receive the BBC so no lost for me. I missed the bbc news, i think that should be free for every human on this planet. Can't even get BBC world, where is the world going. Stuck with CNN and the best political news team in the world... Wolf Blitzer needs a shave.

[Knock-on]

FOTA will have to pay Bernie for the loss of income.

I can imagine the boardrooms of Toyota & Renault would be thrilled.

I didn't know that FOTA have a contract with FOM.

Some of the individual teams have contracts. I believe Ferrari, FI and Williams but I'm not aware of any others.

How many cars do we need to make a series. Is it 20?

If so, then we need 7 more teams to sign up and be on the grid for 2010.

That is a big ask even if 7 teams wanted to join and passed due dilligence.

I don't know how Max can sue apart from Ferrari.

[emporer_k]

I wander how many other broadcasters will want out if the breakaway happens.

[F1boat]

The race is over. We can go back to the serious stuff ;)