At The Races (ATR) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG) have announced the
creation of a new joint venture company which will exploit international
distribution rights for all British and Irish racecourses, it was confirmed
Saturday. They have pooled their respective rights into the venture which will
create a new, unified broadcast service aimed at retail-based wagering operators
around the world. The joint venture is intended to grow revenues and reduce
duplicated costs which will further increase the returns to racing that have
grown since the introduction of 48-hour declarations on UK Flat racing. The
company will start trading on March 1.
The new company will be run by joint Managing Directors Matthew Imi and
Richard FitzGerald, the respective chief executives of ATR and RMG, together
with two additional directors representing both ATR’s and RMG’s racecourse
partners and an independent chairman.
The new operation will be tasked with maximizing the revenue opportunities
for British and Irish racing in important pari-mutuel markets such as Italy,
France, South Africa, Turkey and Australia, as well as further developing
opportunities in newer markets such as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Discussions relating to the possible expansion of the joint venture’s remit to
cover other international distribution and syndication opportunities are
ongoing.
The joint venture has commissioned SIS to create an international broadcast
service which will provide coverage of live racing from all 60 British and 26
Irish tracks and to manage distribution of the service to fixed odds markets
such as the Caribbean and Sri Lanka.
The service will be launched under a new brand to be agreed by both partners.
“This joint venture partnership is great news for all British and Irish
racecourses and will signal a real step change in the way At The Races and RMG
can exploit the opportunities for international distribution,” Imi said. “As a
combined and unified product, British and Irish racing is a hugely powerful
proposition to racing fans and betting audiences around the world, arguably one
that is unrivalled in terms of quality, depth and variety by any other racing
jurisdiction. Richard and I are looking forward to working together to ensure we
fully maximize the opportunity and more effectively market and promote our
racing as part of a unified service.”
“We are very pleased that the British and Irish racecourses are able to be
sold as one package which will drive further value for our racecourses and
provide a better product to our customers across the world,” FitzGerald agreed.
“I would like to put on record our appreciation to Phumelela Gold Enterprises
for the work they have done for our racecourses in this area over the last five
years in developing the marketplace and as one of our largest international
customers for British racing. It is significant progress that RMG and ATR are
able to work together to develop a combined product and we are all looking
forward to working together to create the leading international package.”
ATR owns various media rights to 30 British racecourses and all 26 Irish
racecourses. The company is majority owned by racecourses and is supported by
shareholders including BSkyB, Arena Leisure plc, Northern Racing and Ascot
Racecourse. RMG is the umbrella organization for the 30 British racecourses
which own and operate Racing UK.