The 37 British racecourses affiliated to Racecourse Media Group (RMG) will receive £93.1million in revenues generated from their media rights in 2017 – a 9% increase on 2016.
Simon Ellen, Chairman of RMG, said: “RMG produced another very strong performance across all its businesses in 2017, resulting in £93.1m being paid to our 37 racecourses, a £7.6m increase on 2016’s payments.
“In 2017, we welcomed Leicester, Stratford and Taunton racecourses to RMG. The fixtures they bring across both codes have further improved the scope and number of meetings broadcast by our direct-to-home (DTH) channel, Racing UK.
“2017 also marked the last full year’s trading of our LBO business Turf TV. The creation of Turf TV just over 10 years ago underlines what can be achieved through collective enterprise and ownership of content and was a game-changer for betting shop broadcasting. I would like to add my thanks to the team, past and present, who have made a major contribution at Turf TV.
“The revenues generated from 2017 enabled our racecourses to increase executive and sponsorship contribution to prize-money by £4.2m to £53.8m, an 8% increase on 2016.
“These revenues could not be generated without the successful businesses of our racecourses, and the tremendous support they offer RMG. We are delighted to have completed agreements with 34 racecourses, so far, for their media and data rights with RMG through to the end of 2023. The racecourses' collective ethos underpins the RMG business and we aspire to deliver further improvement to those courses in the years ahead.
“There is much to look forward to, especially for our members, when racing from all 26 Irish racecourses, plus Chelmsford City, joins the Racing UK output in 2019. The content set is of the highest quality and, for the first time, the full narratives of the British and Irish seasons can be told on one definitive horseracing channel.”
These payments, which are paid via licence fees and dividends, were derived from:
· Turf TV – betting shop service provider to Licensed Betting Offices (LBOs)
· Racing UK (multi-platform subscription channel)
· Digital (bet-to-view streams)
· GBI Racing (international TV betting and pictures service)
· International (non-betting TV sales overseas)
· Terrestrial TV (ITV agreement)
