Fakenham Racecourse joins Racecourse Media Group
Fakenham Racecourse will boost RMG’s UK content.
UK.- Fakenham Racecourse has joined Racecourse Media Group through a deal to run from May 1 until December 31, 2028. The deal adds 12 fixtures to RMG’s Racing TV output.
RMG will aid the commercialisation and development of Fakenham’s local betting shop (LBO), streaming (Watch and Bet), pay TV (Racing TV) and international (Racing TV International) content rights. The racecourse will become a shareholder in RMG – the business is entirely owned by racecourses, which receive 100 per cent of its profits.
From the start of the deal, RMG’s content will cover broadcasts of live racing from 36 British racecourses through its Racing TV network. It also broadcasts content from all 26 Irish race tracks. Last year, RMG renewed its contracts with several major deals with several major racecourses as well as with betting operators including Flutter Entertainment and Entain.
RMG CEO Martin Stevenson said: “RMG and its 34 racecourse shareholders are delighted to welcome Fakenham Racecourse to the RMG family. The racing from Fakenham will further strengthen our output, and we very much look forward to working closely with David Hunter and his team on all aspects of their media and data workstreams.”
Fakenham chief executive and clerk of the course David Hunter said: “We are excited to be joining RMG and to be in partnership with many other like-minded small independent racecourses, alongside the larger independents and Jockey Club Racecourses.
“We have an excellent relationship with The Racing Partnership, At The Races and Sky Sports Racing which goes back many years and we are very grateful to the many successful years we have partnered with them.
“However, my board of directors feel now is the right time for Fakenham to make a change and we believe joining the RMG family will ensure Fakenham will continue to provide good quality grass roots National Hunt racing with good prize money.”
Martin Stevenson, CEO of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), has urged stakeholders in the horse racing sector to lobby the UK government during its review of gambling legislation. He claimed that potential changes to legislation could have a major impact on the sport in general.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has yet to publish its gambling white paper on proposed amendments to the 2005 Gambling Act.
In February, Racecourse Media Group began looking for a replacement for its chairman Roger Lewis, who will step down from his position leading the board at the end of the year.
