BBC Loses Horse Racing Coverage

After a long association with horse racing spanning 60 years the BBC has lost its live coverage to Channel 4. Since 2010 the BBC had only being showing 13 days of live racing and they have now lost what is considered to be ‘The Crown Jewels of the sport’. Instead funds are being directed to keep events such as The Six Nations, Wimbledon and Formula One which they now share with Sky.

The BBC are said to be disappointed to have lost the rights but are happy that the sport will remain on free to view TV and with the Olympics looming, 2012 is going to be a big sporting year for the ‘Beeb’ as they show the Grand National, The Derby and Royal Ascot for the final time.

With continuos coverage of horse racing remaining on terrestrial television it is hoped that the sport will remain in the minds of fans and viewers alike and grow that fan base further. Also with the length of the deal it should provide a strong platform for horse racing to tap into the typically younger viewers of Channel 4.

There is a risk involved however, particularly for the Grand National, as last year it attracted 8.5million viewers, the biggest audience in the racing calendar and there is concern that the switch from the BBC could damage its profile. The other side to that argument is that the sport has been enhanced by horses such as shakalakaboomboom and The Midnight Club and is now more commercially attractive for broadcasters as bookmakers have been allowed to advertise.