We have to find other means of watching F1 legally

We have some bad news for Formula 1 fans in the Philippines.

If you've been watching the races through Fox Sports, you will have to find a different way of doing so starting next month. SkyCable officially announced that 13 Disney and Fox channels will cease broadcast in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. For those unfamiliar, The Walt Disney Company is the current owner of Fox. 

The three Fox Sports channels on pay-TV and cable services will cease operations on October 1, 2021. It's not just limited to SkyCable; all pay-TV and cable operators in the country will no longer be able to offer these channels.

The reason for the shutdown is mainly attributed to The Walt Disney Company's shift to streaming services.  Effectively, they want us to subscribe to Disney+, but that's not available in the Philippines and with most other countries in the region yet. The only exception to do so that is if you use a virtual private network (VPN).

For the longest time, Formula Grand Prix weekends have long been broadcast through Fox Sports channels, available on Cignal, SkyCable, and other cable providers. But with Disney shutting down operations in Southeast Asia, that leaves Formula 1 fans in the country with fewer options to watch the races.

Aside from F1, Fox Sports also broadcasted other motorsports events from around the world including NASCAR, Formula 2, Formula 3, and MotoGP, to name a few. Meanwhile, golf, tennis, NBA, and football fans will also be affected by the shutdown of these channels.

If you want to watch F1 live legally, you can subscribe to Formula 1's F1 TV Pro. However, you'll need a foreign credit card and possibly a VPN to make it work. Hopefully, cable providers can offer a new channel for F1 fans who want to watch the races on TV and not through online streams.

 

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