Racecourse Media Group has agreed long-term extensions to the audio-visual and data-rights arrangements of 33 British racecourse shareholders, giving its portfolio contractual continuity through to 31 December 2033.
The agreements span streaming through Watch & Bet, direct-to-home broadcasting, terrestrial television, international betting and non-betting rights, and pre-race and race-day data. They cover RMG’s media and data-rights portfolio at a time when RMG has pointed to betting-shop closures, regulatory change and wider economic pressure.
Participating racecourses include Jockey Club Racecourses, York, Goodwood and Ayr, alongside 16 small independent racecourses. RMG said the renewals mean prominent fixtures including the Randox Grand National, Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, Betfred Derby, Qatar Sussex Stakes and Juddmonte International Stakes will remain within its portfolio until at least 2034.
A collective deal across racing’s media portfolio
Conor Grant, RMG’s outgoing chair, said the collective commitment from the shareholder racecourses endorsed the racecourse ownership model created in 2004. He said the renewals gave courses important certainty while the media and betting environment continued to change.
Grant said RMG’s shareholders were positioned to address challenges and pursue opportunities in broadcasting, streaming, data and betting. That remains an assessment from RMG rather than a guarantee of future income, but the extensions run through 31 December 2033.
William Derby, chief executive of York Racecourse, said York had been a founding member of Racing UK in 2004 and was pleased to extend its relationship with RMG until 2034. He said the ownership model allowed racecourses to retain control of their media and data rights while drawing on RMG’s collective scale and expertise.
Derby said RMG’s Racing TV, Raceday TV and wider domestic and international commercial operations had delivered innovation, value and coverage for racecourses and racing audiences. He said York looked forward to continuing work with the group to present major occasions to domestic and international audiences.
How RMG says revenues return to courses
Nick Mills, RMG’s chief executive, said the company is wholly owned by its racecourse shareholders and that every pound of profit it generates is returned to racecourses. According to Mills, those returns support prize money, facilities and investment across the sport.
RMG presents its shareholder ownership structure as an important part of the agreement’s commercial rationale. Rather than presenting the renewals simply as a broadcasting arrangement, RMG has framed them as a platform to continue growing revenues and increasing returns for its member courses.
Jim Mullen, group chief executive of The Jockey Club, said RMG had generated significant value from media and data rights for more than two decades. He said revenue from betting and broadcast activity had supported investment in prize money, racecourse facilities and customer experience at Jockey Club venues.
Mullen also said RMG income had provided important support to racecourses during periods of challenge and change, and described the group as having a critical role in British racing’s future growth and sustainability.
What the extension does and does not settle
The deal provides long-term continuity for the rights held by the 33 shareholder racecourses and for the revenue model RMG says channels profits back into the sport.
RMG said the renewals come against a backdrop of retail betting-shop closures, regulatory change and broader economic pressures. The reported announcement focuses on the rights extensions and RMG’s assessment of the wider environment.
For the participating courses, the immediate outcome is that the principal media and data rights framework will continue until the end of 2033, with RMG saying its portfolio of major events will remain in place until at least 2034.