ITV to renew horse racing rights to win heftier advertising deals
ITV is looking to renew its television rights for horse racing events as it hopes to secure more lucrative deal with bookmaker advertisers.
As first reported by the Financial Times, the existing deal, which was only agreed last summer, covers events such as Cheltenham and Royal Ascot, and is contracted to show almost 100 days of horse racing on terrestrial TV.
ITV has shown racing since 2017 when it won the contract from Channel 4 and Racecourse Media Group, which manages media rights on behalf of a group including the Jockey Club.
The Jockey Club will therefore play a key role in negotiating broadcast deals moving forward.
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, owned by gambling group Flutter, is the headline sponsor for ITV’s racing coverage and is likely to roll over its deal if negotiations result in an early renewal of the contract, a person close to the company told the FT.
Horse racing receives £350m each year from the gambling industry through sponsorship, media rights and levies on bets, according to a report published in March by the gambling industry trade body, the Betting and Gaming Council.
The Jockey Club, Ascot Racecourse and ITV have been contacted to comment.