Roger Lewis to depart Racecourse Media Group
Roger Lewis has been the chairman of Racecourse Media Group since 2019.
UK.- Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has begun 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.
Lewis, who was previously an executive at BBC and ITV, has been a member of the RMG board since 2012 and chairman since 2019.
RMG has met its objective of returning racing media rights to pre-Covid levels, with positive results in 2021 following the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which caused RMG payments to racecourses to drop by a quarter.
RMG predicts it will pay £110m on the back of its 2021 performance, which beats the total doled out before the pandemic in 2019.
During his tenure, Lewis along with RMG chief executive Martin Stevenson oversaw the renegotiation of UK racing media rights with broadcasters and stakeholders.
In July the RMG finalised a five-year extension until the end of 2028 for 35 UK race tracks that would directly broadcast to LBOs along with media rights for streaming (Watch & Bet), direct to home (DTH), terrestrial TV and international betting and non-betting partners.
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Lewis said: “I thank and congratulate everyone involved in racing for their herculean efforts in 2021. The RMG racecourses ensured that horseracing continued for a second year in the most demanding of circumstances, which allowed RMG to deliver as great a return as possible for racing.
“The RMG model was again tested in 2021 and again proved to be resilient and reliable. This was a pivotal moment for British racing. The RMG racecourses have created business clarity and confidence for years to come.
“I pay particular tribute to the outstanding leadership of the RMG CEO, Martin Stevenson, who together with his great team of RMG executives navigated this complex and detailed process with rigour, patience and clear focus and who continue to lead the business with dynamism.”
Stevenson said: “I would like to pay tribute to Roger who, during his tenure as first Board member and then Chairman, has been instrumental in the development and success of RMG and its businesses over the last decade.
“In particular, Roger has helped steer RMG through the pandemic, and all the huge challenges it presented, to the point where the business is now producing results, which were on a par with pre-Covid payments to racecourses.
“That is a terrific outcome. I thank Roger for his leadership and friendship and for all that he has done for horse racing. We wish him all the best for the future once his tenure comes to its conclusion at the end of the year.”
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