The broadcasting rights issue in Victoria has been declared as “groundbreaking” by new Racing Victoria CEO David Moodie.
The issue is so big it could be set to define the racing code in Victoria for the next 20 years.
Currently the racing body has two options. One is to continue with the TAB-owned Sky Channel or take a chance and move coverage to a free-to-air broadcaster.
The rights are very much a talking point among the board and Moody described it as a “very big decision”.
“We are talking here about the next 10-20 years of where the industry is heading,” Moodie said.
“It is not about the dollar. Both offers are fairly well set.
“There is a gap between what the industry would receive from Tabcorp (reported to be $30 million a year) and what the industry would need to put in to our coverage for [Channel Seven].
“It is a bird in the hand versus a grand concept. We have the chance to do something groundbreaking and get it right.”
Moodie also said that if the decision to go with Channel Seven was decided, which would provide free-to-air coverage for punters 363 days of the year, it would have no effect on Racing Victoria’s wagering relationship with betting giant Tabcorp.
“I am a supporter of Tabcorp, which provides $340 million annually to the Victorian industry through wagering joint venture. But the media rights are a totally different issue,” he said on RSN.
Moodie also said that racing had been for a long time “riddled with self-interest”.
One advantage of Racing Victoria making a bold move to switch to Channel Seven would be not only free-to-air coverage for punters but also a return to mounting and interviews, previews and reviews with jockeys, trainers and owners.
The initial cost of the deal to establish coverage on Channel Seven is believed to be about $10 million for the first year, which would be offset with advertising revenue from corporate bookmakers and industry shareholders.
andrew
Guest
the judge. same for me. never had foxtel. watched it on line via various mediums for years.
Bondy
Guest
geoff Good post TVN was relaxed not like this shove it down their throats and remind the punters we care stuff ...
Nick
Guest
Just do it! The NSW-centric coverage by sky is sickening!!
Terry
Guest
If going down the Ch. 7 path, what's the chances of obtaining Richard Callander to be the face of R.V.? Knowledgeable, good personality, comes across extremely well on T.V., and no one compares as a better or alternate choice.
Cudoit
Guest
Sorry James, You're dead wrong. A free to air deal is a gigantic waste of money. The overwhelming majority of racing audience are punters just wanting to see their money go round, most of even them aren't interested in watching hours of mounting yard analysis claptrap from so called "expert" commentators. Channel Seven won't be doing this for ratings I can assure you, 96.75 % of Australians find watching horse racing boring. Racing Victoria will have to prop this up with millions of dollars that could be going to better prizemoney, infrastructure upgrades a million and one things that could benefit the industry. Trying to expand "eyeballs" as they put put it is complete and utter claptrap trotted out to keep their gigantic ego heads inflated. It won't work, NSW at least had the brains to figure all this out months ago. Racing Victoria and the Clubs should stop trying to be media moguls onto their next "big deal" and concentrate on their core business, putting on racing.
geoff thompson
Guest
I used to watch TVN on Saturday and Wednesday loved it was like being at the races only better they talked with jocks trainers etc. Gators and Richie Calender's reviews and best of all only the two meetings covered Sydney and Melbourne like show the main races from wherever if they have too not this mad crap of trying to fit it all in like its already on Sky's other two channels what's the darn point of it showing the same race on all channels just my thoughts
Haradasun
Roar Rookie
The problem with SKY is that their client is TAB not the punter. They are in it only to fleece you of as much money as they can. A conflict of interest as it were when it comes to media coverage. A free to air deal would be a win for impartial coverage of horse racing as a sport and would provide more information and help grow the sport generally.
theJudge
Guest
Dean - I regularly watch and/or attend Melbourne meetings and have never had a foxtel subscription. Prior to TVN shutting down, I was able to watch TVN through my Samsung smart TV for free, and watch other states through TAB/Sky Channel on a smart phone or desktop computer beamed to my TV. The non Sky broadcasting of Victoria races has not effected turnover over this period, so why not attempt to grab a bigger share of the gambling landscape with free-to-air coverage. This will feed money back into the industry to create a better product for all.
Dean
Guest
Do any people who watch horse racing not already have foxtel (and therefore foxtel go) so able to watch the races wherever they are on a smart phone? I think over the time frame of the deal, free to air will become less relevant anyway. Why not just make a deal with Sky to add another channel and get the interviews and content they want.