Victorian Racing Rights Committee, Tabcorp Look To Seal Broadcast Deal

Members of the rights committee for Victorian principal clubs and representatives from Tabcorp will on Friday "attempt to sign a final agreement for the media and visual rights in the state, after years of short-term agreements," according to Patrick Bartley of THE AGE. The rights committee received an offer of A$25M ($19M) a year for eight years from Tabcorp, but "it requested another offer breaking down the cost of domestic, international and non-exclusive digital into separate entities." The sticking point between Tabcorp and Victorian racing officials "is the price attached to the international rights." While TVN will close on March 15, the Channel 7 write-down of A$1B "would seem to exclude it from being the white knight some Victorian administrators had hoped for." A new boutique TV station "will commence as soon as an agreement is reached with Tabcorp and Victorian racing" (THE AGE, 2/19).