Channel 4 Could Face Opposition From ITV To Retain Horse Racing Coverage

Channel 4 "could face strong opposition from ITV" to retain its horse racing coverage, which has been the subject of much criticism over the last three years, according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. A new, four-year terrestrial deal starting in '17 is expected to be completed by Christmas and ITV is "showing interest in the tender, although no decision has yet been made whether to bid." It "makes increasing sense for racing to split marquee events from the regular daily meetings." The dilemma for the sport "is whether to continue with C4’s coverage of 90 days a year, including all the big races, or take up a potential offer from ITV just for the big occasions, which could be worth a lot more." Certainly racing rights "come cheap compared to other sports coverage." The £15M ($23M) cost of C4’s current, four-year deal is equivalent to what Sky is "paying for one and a half Premier League games from next season" (DAILY MAIL, 10/19).