There's nothing like healthy competition in the market place. Time was when the lead into a Grand Prix would be a hurried hand-over from London to Murray Walker as the cars were forming on the grid and James Hunt was breezing into the commentary box with a packet of Marlboro and a pint in his hand.
Thanks to the arrival of Sky's forensic analysis of anything remotely related to F1, the BBC now gives at least an hour-long build-up when covering a Grand Prix live. Sunday's race was a case in point and allowed an interesting comparison between the two channels and their handling of the lead-in to the Bahrain Grand Prix.
With the luxury of time to play with, both sides went arty-crafty when formulating their introductions. SkyF1 presented a moody image with "Rage against the dying light" playing against a video edit of last year's race. BBC was more left-field with a desert scene, set in 2146, as a father and son dismount from camels, scratch around in the sand at where the Sakhir track supposedly used to be and unearth bits of Mercedes bodywork representing last year's epic duel between their two drivers. It was both amusing and puzzling at one and the same time; an adventurous ploy that didn't quite come off.
The BBC really scores, however, by literally playing its traditional ace card, 'The Chain' continuing to create goose-bumps whereas Sky's 'Just Drive' (nicked from the BBC in any case; a decision I never did understand) is beginning to sound tired - just a touch (as David Croft might say).
"Sky's 'Just Drive' (nicked from the BBC in any case; a decision I never did understand) is beginning to sound tired - just a touch (as David Croft might say)" Maurice Hamilton
When the respective pundits talk for the first time, the BBC is always going to struggle when Eddie Jordan's Irish blarney is demonstrated by riveting statements such as "This is going to be a huge race" and "the atmosphere here is so exciting", none of which is actually as exciting as EJ's brilliant-blue shirt and shoes.
There's nothing to choose between the two sides as Sky gives us Johnny Herbert chatting to a relaxed Sebastian Vettel on the drivers' parade and Lee McKenzie snares him in the paddock. We learn - more than once - from David Coulthard that he has been in the gym and Nico Rosberg has "lost his mojo", at which point Sky moves further ahead as Martin Brundle has a most revealing pre-recorded interview with Nico Rosberg. Not only is the tenor of the chat professional and effective but Brundle, now live in the pit lane, also adds to the quality of the package by giving a typical easy-to-understand assessment of how Rosberg must be feeling in the light of his drubbing by Lewis Hamilton.
Both channels update us on work on Jenson Button's McLaren-Honda, Sky going behind the scenes at Lotus with what could be best described as a pleasant piece by the pleasant Romain Grosjean. In what turns out to be a battle of the ladies, Rachel Brookes draws more from Clare Williams than McKenzie manages in a similar chat with the Williams boss. But then we come to a double-whammy from the BBC.
Jordan employs his long-standing friendship with Bernie Ecclestone to produce an interview in which Ecclestone is relaxed and co-operative even though one or two of his answers are, as ever, contradictory and confusing - which is to say Jordan probably understands the responses better than most of us.
EJ teases some revealing statements - if you read between the lines. When Bernie says that he would stand down if it meant Audi (who, according to EJ, don't much go on Mr. E) would come into F1, I think we can take that to mean Audi are not moving into F1 any time soon. A put-down of Manor Marussia, however, leaves no doubt over Ecclestone's feelings, a point that the producer picks up on by having EJ extract a diplomatic response from Graeme Lowdon.
Not satisfied with that, the BBC gives us a really excellent piece as McKenzie chairs a recorded chat between Hamilton and Vettel. Even though Lewis is initially ill at ease compared to his totally laid back fellow interviewee, the idea works brilliantly; pure broadcasting gold, very well managed. It puts the BBC ahead, even allowing for Brundle's Rosberg piece.
There's a host of varied and interesting snippets - Bruno Senna using the very effective Sky Pad to analyse the Hamilton/Rosberg battle in 2014, for example - the entire show in each case glued together by chats among the pit lane presenters. Sky score best here even though you couldn't help but notice the absence for this race of the erudite Damon Hill.
And so, the pit lane is open. Level pegging on both sides for the news from Tom Clarkson and Ted Kravitz that Jenson Button will not be racing. The BBC enjoys the immediate bonus of catching an agitated Ron Dennis on the pit wall, Brundle making up for that by button-holing Ron on the grid and having him remind us that his worst moment ever was failing to qualify both cars for Monaco in 1983.
Brundle, of course, is the de facto holder of Intellectual Property Rights for the grid walk. And it shows. It can't be an easy job, yet Martin glides through it, looking as though he thoroughly enjoys an experience which he knows first hand the drivers must hate. His personal credibility rockets even higher when he gently pushes his way into a regal party including the Crown Prince of Bahrain and the former King of Spain, both of whom recognised Brundle instantly and address him by his Christian name. And yet...
We learn nothing from these polite soundbites when compared with a superb chat between Coulthard and Rosberg. It looks like this interview has been agreed upon beforehand but the point is that Nico is in remarkably relaxed form and gives a graphic and fulsome précis of his thoughts going into the race; a case of one driver speaking to another who understands. It is exactly what the grid walk should be in a perfect world that is difficult to attain more often than not.
That done, DC wanders about the middle of the grid looking rather lost while Brundle makes his way to the front for a good camera shot of the driver line-up. With the countdown to the national anthem ringing in his earpiece, Brundle perfectly times his 'out' to camera. Class.
With a nifty piece of fence sitting, I make that an extremely close tie between two professionally presented programmes. We're lucky to have them because it wasn't always like this. As Murray Walker might shout when describing the work of his successors: "Incredible! LOOK! AT! THAT!"