BSkyB Could Move To Secure British Horse Racing Rights
BSkyB could move to secure the satellite broadcasting rights to the majority of Britain’s horseracing events following the collapse of Attheraces, the digtal channel it ran with Channel 4 and Arena Racing consortium.
Reports suggest that BSkyB is planning to seize control of the rights and could broadcast races via its Satellite Information Services system, currently used to provide low cost video feeds to betting shops.
The broadcasting rights to some of the country’s most prestigious courses are up for grabs following the collapse of Attheraces, a racing channel run by a consortium of Channel 4, BSkyB and Arena Racing. The channel ceased broadcasting at midnight last night following a failure to renegotiate its broadcasting rights due to lower than predicted gambling revenues.
The collapse will see control of terrestrial broadcasts return to individual racecourses. Channel 4 has announced that it is attempting to salvage these rights in order to continue their coverage of the sport.
A spokesman for Channel 4 said: “Channel 4 has broadcast live UK horseracing for 20 years and we are working hard to reach an agreement which ensures the UK horseracing industry continues to benefit from the exposure terrestrial broadcasts provide, but which also makes commercial sense to Channel 4.”
BSkyB remained tight-lipped about the situation regarding satellite broadcasts and spokekesman insisted the satellite broadcaster was simply “reviewing the situation”. However, the acquisition could be a lucrative one for Sky as Attheraces claimed to have “broadened the appeal of horseracing from less than 30,000 subscribers under the old racing channel to a record weekly audience of 850,000 people.”
The speculation surrounding the racing rights comes just weeks after Sky announced the launch of its first interactive gambling channel, Sky Vegas Live. The satellite giant already runs interactive betting on many sporting events, including horseracing, through its Sky Bet service, available through set top boxes and backed by established bookmaker Surrey Sports (see Sky To Bring Vegas To The Living Room).
Sky: 08702 40 40 40 www.sky.com
Recent Television Stories from NewsLine European Pay-TV Revenues To Exceed Adspend In 2004 Channel 4 To Profit From Sex And The City Climax UK Viewers Call For Change In Way BBC Is Funded
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive