Racing Victoria Chiefs Say TVN Delivered $124 Million In 'Profits' For Clubs

The Victorian racing industry's "problem child" TVN "may not have been such a problem after all," according to Michael Lynch of THE AGE. Racing Victoria CEO Bernie Saundry and Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer Andrew Catterall "have talked up the impact of the asset, which is now being phased out, and said that far from being a cost to the sport, the television network had delivered not just audience and boosted racing's core demographic, but brought a significant revenue stream to the shareholders." TVN "had been responsible for providing" more than A$160M ($124M) in rights fees to NSW and Victorian race clubs over the period of its operation, '05-14. Neither Saundry nor Catterall "would go into detail to back up the statement  nor did they produce balance sheets or audited figures to back up the assertion." But "they were adamant that the company still had some valuable components and that talks to unwind the Victorian and NSW stakeholders would produce a resolution" (THE AGE, 2/10).