ITV signs three-year deal to provide free-to-air coverage of UK horse racing
ITV’s exclusive deal will run until the end of 2026.
UK.- ITV has reached a three-year deal to exclusively broadcast free-to-air coverage of UK horse racing up to the end of 2026. The deal will include more than 100 days of live content on ITV1 and ITV4 each year, to be simulcast on ITVX. There will be a morning racing programme, The Opening Show.
The media rights include major races such as the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby.
ITV director of sport Niall Sloane said: “This deal will take us to a decade of racing on ITV and we’re delighted to be able to continue to bring to viewers well over 100 days of live coverage of this wonderful sport, including some of the most enjoyable, storied and thrilling events of each year.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Racecourse Media Group and our other partners within racing to bring audiences the very best racing has to offer in the coming years.”
Racecourse Media Group, The Jockey Club and the British Horseracing Authority said ITV was an “excellent partner” for British racing.
Alastair Warwick, acting chief executive of Ascot Racecourse, said: “We are delighted to have agreed this extension to our highly successful partnership with ITV who continue to make the sport more accessible through their coverage.
“I would particularly like to recognise the dedication to racing the team showed throughout the pandemic period which was fundamental to our sport’s recovery. ITV is an incredibly important partner for us, broadcasting Ascot into millions of homes across the country and we look forward to working with them across the next three years.”
ARC director of commercial strategy David Leyden Dunbar said: “ITV should be applauded for providing the sport with such a platform.”
In January, Racecourse Media Group (RMG) named Conor Grant as the next chairman of the company. He will initially join the company as a non-executive director from April 1 and will go on to succeed Roger Lewis as chairman on October 1.
