At The Races Bounces Back To Exceed Expectations

Arena Leisure, operator of horse racing channel At The Races, has announced a better than expected performance by the beleaguered broadcaster following its relaunch last year.

The channel, run jointly with BSkyB, was relaunched after its predecessor, Attheraces, collapsed (see At The Races Sets Date For Channel Relaunch). The channel’s demise led to High Court proceedings against the Racecourse Association, and 30 UK racecourses, to recover the £51.3 million which Arena claims it is owed.

Commenting on the channel’s performance, chief executive Ian Penrose expressed “delight” at record audience levels and several broadcasting deals outside of the UK. He said: “Significantly, the business model has allowed ATR to deliver £2 million back to its racecourse shareholders and partners.”

At The Races chief executive, Matthew Imi, added: “We’ve done what we promised we would do. Produced the market leading racing and betting business at home and abroad, passed considerable cash payments back to our 55 racecourse partners from day one, encouraged more viewers and punters to engage with our racecourse and betting partners via a widely distributed, cross platform, rights based business and spearheaded new and innovative, technology driven revenue streams which benefit our industry as a whole.”

Elsewhere, Channel 4 has entered “meaningful negotiations” with the nation’s bookmakers to secure a subsidy for its horseracing coverage after pushing back the deadline for a decision last week.

The broadcaster is believed to require £8 million from the racing coalition, comprising bookmakers, racecourses and the Levy Board, in order to continue coverage of over 200 hours of racing at a cost of around £10 million (see Channel 4 In Negotiations For Racing Subsidy).

At The Races: www.attheraces.com